Life convict who jumped parole twice, lived under new identity for years arrested in Ahmedabad
Satish Himmatlal Ruparelia was convicted in 2000 for the 1994 murder of textile merchant Arvind Shah in Ahmedabad’s Shahibaug area.
The police said Satish Himmatlal Ruparelia had also started a finance business in Ahmedabad's Prahladnagar area. (Photo: Ahmedabad Crime Branch) A murder convict who jumped parole twice, changed his identity through an official gazette notification, and allegedly lived undetected in Ahmedabad for over a decade was arrested by the city Crime Branch Monday.
Satish Himmatlal Ruparelia, alias Bhikhu, alias Sanjay Thakkar, was convicted for the October 22, 1994, murder and decapitation of textile merchant Arvind Shah at Neelam Hotel in Ahmedabad’s Shahibaug area.
According to the police, a headless body was found in a room of Neelam Hotel, which Ruparelia and fellow accused Rajan Panchal had rented. Both brought Arvind Shah from his shop in Kalupur to the hotel room. They locked the room from inside, threatened Shah with a knife, and asked him to hand over the gold rings he was wearing, the chain around his neck, and cash. When Shah tried to snatch the knife away, a scuffle broke out and all of them were injured. Ruparelia and Panchal then stabbed Shah about 30-35 times and brutally murdered him. They also made away with Shah’s gold ornaments and cash.
“Then, in order to prevent the body from being identified, the accused decapitated the body. Later, they put the severed head in a bag, took it on a scooter and threw it in the Adalaj area,” the police said.
In April 2000, the Additional City Sessions Court of Ahmedabad sentenced him to death for murder, robbery, and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code and the Bombay Police Act. The Gujarat High Court later commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment in an order dated August 2, 2001.
In a statement, the police said it successfully located Ruparelia using intelligence, tactical surveillance, and groundwork, adding that he is being remanded back into judicial custody.
Ruparelia, who was released on parole in 2004, remained absconding till 2008, the police said. “During that time, a case of counterfeit currency notes was also registered against Satish alias Bhikhu Ruparelia at the Dariyapur police station in 2008. After that, he was again sent to jail. He was further sentenced to five years in prison in the counterfeit currency notes case, but since he was already serving a life sentence, the court ordered that both sentences be served concurrently,” the statement read.
Satish becomes Sanjay
The police further stated that Ruparelia was granted parole again in 2014 and officially changed his name from Satish to Sanjay in 2017. He was living with his second wife and her two children at Ratnsagar Heights in the New Ranip area.
On his identity change, the police said, “People around him knew him only as Sanjay. Not only this, but the children living with him had no knowledge of his criminal history. Also, his family members, siblings, and 85-year-old father had no knowledge of the new residence he had built. Although his family members lived in Ahmedabad, he lived in a separate residence so that his identity and confidentiality were maintained.”
The police further said Ruparelia had also started a finance business in the Prahladnagar area.
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