For Hindi film buffs, the phrase "kanoon ke haath lambe hote hain" (the arms of the law are long) is a familiar trope. On Saturday night, 54-year-old Nityananda Mallick discovered the truth behind those words. After 31 years on the run from family, friends, and police, Mallick was finally arrested.
Mallick had been accused of hacking his mother, Mataji Mallick, 50, to death over a property dispute on June 6, 1995. He was 23 at the time and went missing immediately after the crime. For three decades, he evaded capture, working as a daily wager in various places under different names. He avoided using mobile phones and obtained an Aadhaar card using a false identity.
The Long Chase
Initially, police conducted searches across multiple locations, but Mallick continued to elude them. The lack of technical support and logistics in the rural police station hindered progress. "Being a rural police station, we lacked technical support and logistics to trace his movements. When officers were transferred, their successors too made attempts, but eventually gave up," said an officer on condition of anonymity.
Recently, the state police headquarters directed all district superintendents of police to intensify drives against long-absconding offenders. Acting on this directive, Kendrapada police reopened the Mallick case. Investigations revealed that Mallick had been frequenting Kopanda village, about 12 kilometers from his native Singhapur village in Jajpur district, where he had built a house.
Arrest and Confession
Police placed the area under surveillance. On Friday, they received intelligence that Mallick had been spotted in the village. A team was dispatched, and on Saturday night, he was arrested. During interrogation, Mallick confessed to the crime. "Through human intelligence, we picked up some leads. He recently visited his home. Acting on specific input, we finally arrested him," the officer added.
"Property dispute was the main reason behind the murder," said Susanta Kumar Sethi, Inspector-in-Charge of Kuakhia police station. Mallick was produced in the local court on Sunday, where his bail plea was rejected, and he was remanded to judicial custody.
The arrest brings closure to a case that had gone cold for over three decades, demonstrating that the long arm of the law eventually catches up with offenders.
