A murder convict who spent over a decade on the run while secretly building a career in Bollywood has been arrested by the Gujarat Police. Hemant Modi, 53, was taken into custody by the Ahmedabad crime branch on Wednesday, nearly 12 years after he jumped parole in a murder case.

Modi had been convicted in a 2005 murder and rioting case linked to a violent dispute near Parshwanath Township in Ahmedabad. In 2008, a Gujarat court sentenced him and others to life imprisonment after Narendra Kamble was killed during the clash. While serving his sentence at Mehsana District Jail, Modi was granted a 30-day parole in 2014 but never returned, leading the Gujarat High Court to declare him a parole jumper later that year.

To evade arrest, Modi allegedly changed both his identity and location multiple times. After initially staying in Patan, he moved to Ahmedabad in 2015 and adopted the name "Twinkle Dave". He reportedly worked at a private company before shifting to Mumbai in 2017, where he began acting in films, web series and theatre productions.

According to police, Modi appeared in several Bollywood films during his years in hiding, including Thugs of Hindostan starring Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan, as well as Jayeshbhai Jordaar featuring Ranveer Singh. He also acted in Gujarati films, web series and stage plays such as Yugpurush and Gandhi Viruddh Godse.

Despite maintaining a public profile in the entertainment industry, Modi managed to avoid capture until recently. Police said he returned to Ahmedabad in 2025 and began living in the Gheekanta area, where he eventually came under surveillance and was arrested near a metro station. He will now be handed back to Mehsana District Jail to serve the remainder of his life sentence.