Thane, Jan 16 (NIE): A man, who was on the run since he jumped furlough in 2006 while serving a life imprisonment sentence for murdering his friend, was arrested by the Thane Police Crime Branch on Tuesday.

The man had allegedly been living in Panvel under a fake identity and was working as an “agent” with a municipal official, police said. The accused has been identified as Kishor Gaikwad (45).

“Gaikwad had killed his friend in Taloja over a petty issue for which he was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2003. When he came out on furlough in 2006, he never returned,” said a senior police officer.

Gaikwad had allegedly changed his name to Kishor Mhatre and was living in a village in Thane. He was even arrested on January 10 by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), police said, but no one recognised him and Gaikwad got bail.

“However, unnerved by the ACB arrest, Gaikwad decided to move out of Maharashtra. He came to Thane and that’s when our informant alerted us. We arrested him near Vitava Check naka,” said an officer.