Dharmendra Mahato, 28, on the run for kidnapping a 14-year-old girl from the port area in March, was declared dead by Calcutta Police four months ago.

On Saturday, some residents of the area caught him while he was allegedly trying to kidnap a 12-year-old.

According to police, Dharmendra, a resident of Karl Marx Sarani in the South Port police station area, had sold the 14-year-old to a brothel for Rs 30,000.

The girl’s parents had lodged an FIR against him, alleging that he had been harassing their daughter for the past few months.

Interrogation of Dharmendra’s family members revealed that he had gone to a relative’s place in Haryana. A team from the police station went there in July and rescued the girl, who was reunited with her parents.

Dharmendra, however, was declared dead. “During the raid in Haryana, the brothel-owner told the officers that Dharmendra was killed in a road mishap,” said an officer of South Port police station.

Around 8.30 pm on Saturday, some youths of the port area saw Dharmendra with the 12-year-old near Kidderpore dock.

They followed him and raised an alarm as soon as he hired a taxi for Howrah station. Dharmendra let the girl go and started running. He was caught after a 20-minute chase and handed over to police.

“We knew Dharmendra was alive. Police cooked up the story of his death. We were having tea at a roadside stall, when we saw him with a girl from the neighbourhood. We grew suspicious and started following them,” recounted Abu Aslam, one of the youths who caught Dharmendra.

“It’s amazing that police did not make an effort to arrest Dharmendra and declared that he was killed in a road accident in Haryana. He is on good terms with some policemen and they helped him in his plan to stay scot-free,” alleged Sunil Kumar, secretary of the local Bhukailash Youth Federation club.

Another local resident added: “In the past, Dharmendra was involved in illegal constructions. Nobody dared to lodge a complaint against him.”

J. Dholey, officer-in-charge, South Port police station, admitted to Metro: “The officers should have verified the news of Dharmendra’s death. Action will be taken against them if they are found to have suppressed the truth. Dharmendra has been remanded in judicial custody.”