Police in Madhya Pradesh's Indore on Wednesday arrested a criminal, on whose head they had announced a reward of 50 paise for threatening a witness in a murder case, an official said.

The city police have launched a unique campaign to announce token rewards against absconding criminals.

Talking to reporters, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Vinod Kumar Meena said that accused Saurabh Gaur alias Bittu (24) was arrested from the city's Gandhi Nagar area.

Gaur, who is a prime accused in a murder case, had fled after threatening a witness in the case in Malharganj area to change his statement in court, he said.

A reward of 50 paise was announced for Gaur's arrest as per his "status" in the eyes of police, he added.

"We are announcing token rewards of nominal amounts on absconding criminals. The purpose of this is to send a message to criminals that no matter how big a goon they think they are, the police will arrest them and take strict action," Meena said.

After an advertisement announcing a reward of 50 paisa for Gaur's arrest was circulated on social media, he closed his Instagram account for a few days to avoid "embarrassment", he said.

According to Meena, 11 criminal cases are registered against Gaur at different police stations in the city.

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