A 54-year-old man who had been evading arrest since the past 14 years was caught hiding inside the washing machine in his house on Monday.

For three hours, Azad Maidan and Juhu police who had gone to his residence to arrest him were stalled by his wife. Finally after the long wait, the wife who had been claiming that her husband was not in the house allowed the police team to search the house.

The constables were confronted by Tiwari's wife, who claimed to an advocate. For three hours, the wife did not allow the constables to step inside the apartment.

The police team searched the house and were about to leave when they couldn't find him but decided to check once again. One of the officers had an inclination that the accused might be inside the house.

The police once again scanned through the 3 bedroom apartment. Everything seemed right in place.

One of the constables, just to ensure they do not miss out on anything, decided to open the washing machine. To his surprise, he found the accused, Manoj Tiwari, under a pile of clothes staring up at the constable.

Senior police inspector Vasant Vakhare of Azad Maidan police station said that after the accused was declared an absconder by court he had been on the run and had also shifted residence from time to time to avoid getting caught.

Recently, Mumbai Police started a drive to arrest the proclaimed offenders and began tracing him as his name appeared in wanted list of Azad Maidan police station.

"After the police commissioner gave orders to trace absconding accused of previous cases, we launched a manhunt to nab Tiwari. We found through electronic surveillance that he stays in a high profile housing society in Juhu," said Vakhare.

The police officers said that Tiwari had cheated three people and took money from them promising admission in a post graduation course in 2002.

"Tiwari is wanted in a case in Pune also where he cheated people to the tune of crores of rupees and had absconded from there as well, it is suspected that he could be involved in many such cases. His arrest could reveal more. He was produced in court which sent him to judicial custody on Tuesday" said Vakhare.

The police have arrested Tiwari now and have also lodged a complaint against his wife in Juhu police Station for obstructing government officials from discharging their duties.