The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested an absconding accused, Ramnarayan @ Hyder on 04.07.2026 from Village Naseerpur, Police Station Khakheru, District Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh, in connection with a 2002 case relating to dacoity with murder and theft of an ancient idol from the protected Garhwa Fort, an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) site, in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.
The CBI registered the instant case on 09.09.2003 after taking it over from Police Station Shankargarh, District Allahabad (now Prayagraj), where it was originally registered as Crime No. 43/2002 under Sections 396 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code. It was alleged that on the intervening night of 21/22 April 2002, a gang of 11 persons led by accused Vijay Kumar Shukla committed dacoity at the protected Garhwa Fort. During the incident, the gang allegedly murdered watchman Vinod Kumar Srivastava by assaulting and gagging him to death, overpowered another watchman, broke open the lock of the store room, and stole a valuable stone idol of Lord Buddha, which broke into two pieces during its removal.
Investigation revealed that the stolen idol pieces were allegedly transported in a vehicle and sold by the accused Vijay Kumar Shukla to two persons for Rs. 2.20 Lakh. The idol was subsequently shifted to a godown at Mahipalpur, Delhi, and was allegedly exported abroad.
After investigation, CBI filed chargesheet on 22.12.2005 against ten accused persons, including four accused who had remained absconding, namely, Vijay Kumar Shukla, Ravi Karan, Suraj Bhan and Ramnarayan @ Hyder.
For apprehension of the absconding accused, CBI constituted dedicated teams, which developed local intelligence, cultivated sources and carried out sustained surveillance and follow-up operations. As a result of these sustained efforts, Absconding accused Suraj Bhan and Ravi Karan were apprehended on 22.05.2026 and 02.06.2026, respectively, while absconding accused Vijay Kumar Shukla has been traced in District Jail, Chitrakoot, in connection with another case of Uttar Pradesh Police. Necessary steps have already been initiated before the Competent Court in Lucknow on 16.06.2026 for securing his production in the present case.
With the arrest of Ramnarayan @ Hyder, all the absconding accused in the case have now been traced. They will now face trial in accordance with the law.
