Rape convict escapes from custody, arrested

Tribune News Service

Haridwar. September 4

A prisoner serving jail for 8 years in a rape case today tried to escape while he was being taken to the Roshanabad prison from the district hospital here after a medical check-up.

However, he was arrested from Jagjeetpur village within a few hours after police personnel identified him from his photo sent to them on the whatsapp mobile phone application.

Sanjay, a resident of Bandarkoti in Tehri Garhwal, is at present lodged in the Roshanabad prison in a rape case since April 12, 2007. He is an ex-Army man, who was removed from service after he was convicted in a rape case.

For the past few days, he was complaining of ill health and was today taken to the district hospital from the Roshanabad jail. As there was no space in the hospital ambulance as other patients were also being ferried in it, head constable Deewan Singh, who was accompanying Sanjay, brought him to the hospital in an auto-rickshaw.

Sanjay underwent a medical check-up at the hospital and while he was being brought back to the jail, he jumped out of the auto-rickshaw near the congested Valmiki chowk. The head constable ran after him but could not nab him as it is a densely populated area with congested lanes.

Haridwar SSP Sweety Aggarwal was informed about the prisoner’s escape and the information was flashed through wireless sets. Sanjay’s photo was sent on whatsapp to all police station in charges, check post personnel, cheetah motorcycle personnel and city patrolling units.

Sub inspector Rajendra Prasad, Sandeep Kamboj, Sunil Rana and Pradeep Kumar stopped a matador passenger vehicle near the Jagjeetpur check point around 2 pm. During checking, they found a person behaving in a suspected manner and avoiding eye contact.

“The police team identified the culprit from his photo sent to it on whatsapp. Intense checking was carried out at Ganga ghats, Rajaji National Park and near the Valmiki chowk. I have announced a reward of Rs 2,500 for the police team for arresting the criminal,” said the SSP.