True crime: You can't outrun the long arm of the law

Last week, police in Canada arrested Louis Flood, one of America’s most wanted criminals who had been on the run for the last 20 years. Flood had disappeared when he was released on parole in 2001 after serving just three years of an 18-year sentence for sexual abuse of a minor. The Idaho Statesman reported that when the cops finally caught up with the fugitive, he made no effort to run away, largely because of his age. He was 77 at the time. Constable Dave Bickle who apprehended Flood, greeted him with the words: “Hey, Mr Flood, you’re under arrest and you’ll need to come with us because you’re wanted still in the States”.

The incident brought back memories of the sensational pursuit and eventual arrest in April 1986 of one of India’s most notorious criminals, Charles Sobhraj, after he had escaped from the high-security Tihar jail in Delhi, where he was serving a 12-year sentence for robbing a group of French tourists in 1976 after poisoning them. Madhukar Zende, the legendary inspector who tracked him down and finally apprehended him at O Coqueiro, a hippie hangout in Goa, greeted him sociably with the words: “Hello Charles, how are you?” Zende could well afford to treat the serial killer like an old acquaintance. This was the second time after 1971 that he was arresting Sobhraj. Which is why he was considered to be an expert on reading the mind of the man nicknamed The Serpent for his ability to evade arrest. This time Sobhraj offered little resistance and went quietly.

Flood and Sobhraj belong to that breed of criminals who found that the long arm of the law eventually caught up with them. What’s striking is the innocuous circumstances under which they were finally caught. No shootouts, or filmy fights marked their eventual capitulation. Indeed, for some such, the ending came wrapped in ignominy. Andrew Moran, one of Britain's most wanted fugitives, was caught when he was lounging in a swimming pool in Spain. Wearing a pair of red swimming trunks, Moran, who was wanted for armed robbery and was considered a vicious killer, was in no position to offer any resistance despite the handguns and the several rounds of ammunition lying around on the resort premises.

Back home, in 1978, the vile killing of two teenagers, Geeta and Sanjay Chopra, had shaken the very conscience of the nation because of the sadistic cruelty of their killers Billa and Ranga. Yet, the two hardened criminals were caught by four army jawans when they tried to forcibly enter a train compartment reserved for army personnel. The end was as anti-climatic as their crime was heinous.