Mumbai, Jul 30 (IANS): After intense efforts of several weeks, the Mumbai Police finally nabbed absconding killer and gangster Chhota Shakeel's aide, Laik Ahmed Fidahussein Shaikh -- reported 'missing' for over 25 years -- from his solitary hideout in Mumbra town in Thane district, officials said on Saturday.

Shaikh, now 50, along with an accomplice, had shot dead a mafiosi named Munna Daadhi, belonging to the Chhota Rajan gang on April 2, 1997 in the Pydhonie area of south Mumbai.

Soon after the broad daylight killing, he was arrested by the Pydhonie Police Station, but after a few months, managed to secure bail in 1998, and was residing at a tenement in Dongri area, barely one km away.

However, thereafter he repeatedly skipped court hearings and was subsequently declared an absconder, as his whereabouts were not known.

Police teams which had landed at his known address in Dongri found that he was no longer living there since 2004, and from then, he remained ‘missing’ for over 25 years after getting enlarged on bail.

Not willing to give up, the Mumbai Police continued to search for him and finally tracked him down to his lair in Mumbra town, some 45 kms away in Thane district.

Since he was living alone and there were no photos or identification documents, it was difficult for the police to confirm his identity or take action. After several weeks of investigations, keeping tabs on Shaikh’s movements, activating the local informers’ network and deploying tech-intel, the Mumbai Police finally nabbed him near the Thane railway station, notching a major success.

The entire operation was guided by Additional Commissioner of Police, South, Dr Abhinav Deshmukh, Deputy Commissioner of Police Dr Mohit K. Garg, and their teams from the police, crime branch and the technical branch.