Solving crime: How age progression software applied to old sketch helped police nab accused after 24 years

The breakthrough came after MBVV’s top officers decided to revisit pending cases involving absconding accused in serious crimes. Among them was the 2001 murder of Moharram Ali, a 56-year-old resident of Arnala Shantinagar in Virar (West).

On the evening of October 14, 2001,  Ali, flagged down an autorickshaw driven by the then 19-year-old Sayyed. When asked to ply the vehicle, Sayyed refused, which led to a heated altercation. Tempers flared when Sayyed suddenly produced a knife from his autorickshaw and stabbed Ali in the abdomen. The injured man was rushed to nearby Hospital but succumbed to his wounds within the hour.

The Virar Police registered a murder case under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and initiated the probe. The Police identified Haroon Ali Mustaqim Sayyed, however he had immediately fled after the incident. As a result, a chargesheet was filed in his absence under section Section 299 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which allows prosecution of absconding accused. For years, efforts to locate him proved fruitless, and the case went cold.

The case was revived after the top officers of the Mira-Bhayander and Vasai-Virar (MBVV) a few months ago directed its officers to prioritise tracing absconding accused booked in old serious crimes. Thereafter, MBVV’s crime branch swung into action, trying to locate and interview eyewitnesses and autorickshaw  drivers who were familiar with the accused.

The Police discovered that Sayyed was native of Uttar Pradesh and had settled in Vasai area, using false identity, while his permanent address belonged to Kannauj.

As the case was 24-years-old, to overcome the challenge posed due to probable transformation of Sayyed’s facial features over the years, the probing team took help of advanced facial reconstruction software.

Using old sketches of the 19-year-old suspect, the software generated progressed images coming close to Sayyed’s current appearance, the probing team then travelled to Uttar Pradesh to inquire with Sayyed’s relatives including his sister, who provided a mobile number linked to him.

Subsequently, as per Police, they tracked his location and found that his phone was last active in Talasari, Palghar district.

The Police team then arrested Sayyed at  Nilkanth Industrial Estate in Vasai (East) in May, this year and during questioning, he allegedly admitted to stabbing Ali, adding that it was due to escalation of dispute over the fare for auto rickshaw.

He was later produced before the local court and was sent to police custody for further probe and case against him pending before the court.