Thrissur (Kerala) | Thrissur Rural Police on Friday said it has caught more than 100 convicts who had been absconding for years after being sentenced by courts for varying terms of imprisonment.

Police said that those caught included convicts sentenced in cases in 2001, 2007 and 2009.

The convicts were caught through a special inspection called 'Operation Iron Grip' led by Rural District Police Chief B Krishnakumar, it said.

All those caught were produced before various courts and handed over for sentencing, it added.

Even those who had evaded the police for more than two decades were among those caught, police said.

The courts concerned had issued non-bailable warrants for the arrest of convicts in several cases of petty crimes registered in various stations of Thrissur Rural Police district in the years 2001, 2007, 2009 and 2015 and cheque bounce incidents from 2000 to 2018, after they went absconding, it said.

The accused, who were absconding in various places, were arrested by special investigation teams from various police station limits and produced before the various courts.

Krishnakumar, in a police statement, said that strict action will continue in the coming days against those who disrupt the peaceful atmosphere of society and those who defy the law and are in hiding.

He also said that special inspections like 'Operation Iron Grip' will continue in order to prevent goonda activities and bring the accused, who are absconding despite the courts issuing warrants in various cases, to justice.

Strict legal action will be taken against those who help criminals and facilitate them to go into hiding, police said.