A notorious interstate vehicle theft accused who had been absconding for 22 years has been arrested by the Crime Branch from Uttar Pradesh.

The accused, identified as Baldev Singh (60), a native of Ghodi in Palwal district of Haryana, is wanted in several vehicle theft cases across northern Indian States and is also an accused in around 10 vehicle theft cases registered at the Kannur Town police station in 2004.

He was arrested in Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh following a special operation conducted under the direction of Kannur district police chief Balakrishna Nair. The arrest was carried out by a team from the Kannur Crime Branch unit comprising SI Madhusoodanan and ASIs Biju and Rajesh Kumar, with assistance from the Haryana Police Crime Squad.

According to police, Baldev Singh has been a proclaimed offender of the Kannur Crime Branch unit and faces around nine non-bailable court warrants in connection with the cases against him.

Investigators said he had been evading both the police and the court for the past 22 years by frequently moving between Haryana, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh. His arrest brings an end to a prolonged search for one of the key accused in a series of vehicle theft cases reported in Kannur and other parts of northern India.