Thiruvananthapuram: A man accused of molesting a minor girl in 2001 has been arrested by Kerala police after evading arrest for 25 years. Muthukumar, a native of Neeramankara, Thiruvananthapuram, was caught in Chennai, where he had been living under the name “Sam” and working as a pastor.

The accused, a former tuition teacher, had called the girl out of class and taken her to his home, where the abuse took place. Victim’s parents alerted the authorities after the girl went missing from school. Although locals initially caught him, Muthukumar escaped and remained in hiding, moving across multiple states.

During his years on the run, he converted his religion, married twice, and avoided using a personal mobile phone. Police tracked him by monitoring calls he made from public telephone booths to relatives in Thiruvananthapuram.

Kerala police finally located him in Chennai. When authorities arrived at his residence, the accused attempted to flee but was caught.