Varanasi: Azamgarh Kotwali police on Saturday arrested inter-district criminal Raju Patharkat, who carried a reward of Rs 50,000 and had been absconding for over six years. Police recovered an illegal .315 bore country-made pistol and two cartridges from his possession.Raju was wanted in connection with the Rs 6.31 lakh robbery at a Flipkart office in Kartalpur in 2020. According to police, on Feb 5, 2020, four armed men entered the e-commerce giant’s office, threatened employees with firearms and fled with Rs 6,31,702 in cash, along with the CCTV NVR and internet router. A case was registered at Kotwali police station.To secure his arrest, Azamgarh SP had announced a reward of Rs 25,000 on Aug 4, which was later increased to Rs 50,000 by the DIG, Azamgarh Range, on Aug 8.Acting on a tip-off, the police team led by inspector Yadvendra Pandey arrested Raju Patharkat, resident of Khajo Lohharia under Dhanghata police station in Sant Kabir Nagar, from Bandha Road near the private bus stand on Saturday.During interrogation, the accused admitted to having committed the robbery along with his associates. He told police that he had purchased the pistol and cartridges using money from the loot. To evade arrest, he had been hiding at various places, including Nepal, Chennai and Bengaluru.CO Sadar Astha Jaiswal said Raju has 12 cases registered against him in different police stations of Azamgarh, Sant Kabir Nagar and Gorakhpur. The cases are of murder, robbery, theft, burglary, attempt to murder, fraud, forgery and offences under the Arms Act.A fresh case under the Arms Act was registered at Kotwali police station. Police initiated legal proceedings against the accused.
