Murder convict hiding as temple priest in Moga arrested after 14 years
Satpal alias Pala along with nine other people of his village had shot dead another resident Laxman in November 2002 due to personal enmity, police said.
Haryana police on Monday arrested a murder convict, 14 years after he escaped while on parole and became a priest at a temple in Moga district of Punjab.
Satpal alias Pala, a resident of village Alipur in Jind, along with nine other people of his village had shot dead another resident Laxman in November 2002 due to personal enmity, police said.
All the accused, including Pala, were sentenced to life by the court in 2004. While undergoing the life imprisonment, Pala came out of the prison on parole for six weeks on November 5, 2004. However, he failed to return to the jail after completion of his parole on December 18, 2004.
Later, he was declared a proclaimed offender (PO). A police spokesperson said police received a tip-off that Pala had been working as a priest in a temple in Moga. A police team arrested him from Moga and produced him before the court on Monday. He was sent to judicial custody. s
A police official said that the accused, in the guise of a priest, was also engaged in teaching people the lessons of devotion.