Ahmedabad: For more than a decade, neighbours in New Ranip allegedly knew him as a soft-spoken spiritual speaker and worked as a financial consultant. Few suspected that the man living quietly under the name Sanjay Thakkar was actually Satish Ruparelia, who had committed a gruesome murder, got convicted for the crime, and then jumped parole 13 years ago.Nearly 31 years after he killed a textile trader in a Shahibaug hotel, Ruparelia was detained late on Sunday by crime branch officers in New Ranip. “Also known as Bhikhu, Ruparelia had been absconding since 2013 after failing to surrender before prison authorities following temporary release on parole,” said police.Ruparelia had allegedly rebuilt his life under a changed identity. He remarried in 2014 and lived with his second wife and two children in New Ranip, said police. He presented himself as a financial advisor, operating money-lending activities. Officers said he was also a spiritual speaker.Ruparelia was convicted in the 1994 murder of textile trader Arvind Shah, a case that had shocked the city because the victim was allegedly beheaded after being robbed inside a Shahibaug hotel room.According to police records, Ruparelia and co-accused Rajesh Panchal allegedly lured Shah to Neelam Hotel on Oct 22, 1994, under the pretext of a discounted textile deal. Investigators said Shah was carrying cash and gold ornaments. Police alleged the duo robbed and murdered him before severing his head and carrying it in a bag towards Adalaj to prevent identification.In April 2000, an additional city sessions court awarded death sentences to both accused under sections related to murder, robbery and criminal conspiracy under the IPC and provisions of the Bombay Police Act. The Gujarat high court later commuted the sentence to life imprisonment.Crime branch officers said Ruparelia was released on parole in 2013 but never returned to jail. “He kept shifting locations and used different identities to avoid detection,” an officer said.Officers said a surveillance team from the crime branch tracked his movements after receiving inputs that a man was falsely using the identity of Sanjay Thakkar in New Ranip. “Technical surveillance and local verification confirmed that the person was Ruparelia,” an officer said.The crime branch detained him in a targeted operation at his residence without resistance. Officers said he would be returned to judicial custody to serve the remaining portion of his sentence.
