Mangaluru, Jul 16 (IANS): After a nearly 16-year-long chase, the Mangaluru police succeeded in nabbing a member of the gang of international underworld don, Chota Rajan, from Mumbai, police said on Thursday.

According to police, Chandrakant Poojary alias Annu, 55, hailing from Mulki in Mangaluru, had gone absconding after a case of assault was filed against him in 2005.

The police said that he was wanted for issuing threats to and assaulting a resident in Permude village in Mulki taluk.

According to the police, Annu and others had entered the house of Vishwanath Amin on the night of January 10, 2005, in Permude village under the Bajpe police village, and he and another man abused and assaulted family members, including with a bottle.

"The accused had also issued threats to harm the victim, and a case was registered at the Bajpe police station," a police officer said.

Police had even arrested an1 accused named Yogesh but Annu had evaded arrest by going into hiding.

On a tip-off, the Mangaluru police headed to Mumbai and found that the accused had changed his identity and was working as a vegetable vendor in Andheri.

Police claimed that Annu has cases registered against him for assault in Mumbai too. "In Mumbai, he became a close aide of Vasudeva aka Vamana who was Chota Rajan's companion and was killed in an encounter by the Mumbai police in 2004," the police added.

Further investigations are on.