Maharashtra: Prisoner escapes during hospital visit, caught from crematorium hours later

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A 26-year-old under trial prisoner escaped from a Mumbai hospital where he was taken by the police for treatment on Wednesday, but was traced to a crematorium four hours later and arrested, an official said, according to the PTI.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone I) Jayant Bajbale said the man, Vivek Vishwanath Torde, an autorickshaw driver from Bhayandar in Thane district, was arrested in a criminal case and lodged at the Taloja central prison in Navi Mumbai as an undertrial, according to the PTI.

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On Wednesday, he was taken to Maharashtra government-run JJ Hospital in central Mumbai for treatment of an ailment by the Navi Mumbai police when he escaped from the medical facility, he told the PTI.

The JJ Marg police alerted their counterparts in Mira-Bhayandar Vasai-Virar (MBVV) about the escapee and a search was launched for him, he said.
Torde was a resident of Indira Nagar slums under Navghar police station limits.

After four hours of search, he was found hiding in a crematorium in Indira Nagar slums from where he was arrested and handed over to the JJ Marg police, said the officer, as per the PTI.

Meanwhile, in an another incident, a 27-year-old mobile theft suspect allegedly attacked a police constable with an iron rod and escaped from custody at the Crime Branch headquarters in Kanakia, Mira Road near Mumbai, early on Monday morning, police sources said.

The injured Crime Branch constable, Jaykumar Somnath Rathod, is currently hospitalised and receiving medical treatment. The police have launched a manhunt to nab the suspect, an official said.

According to the police sources, the accused, Haifal Kalu Ali (27), a resident of Bhayander, had been apprehended in connection with a mobile theft case by the Crime Branch and was taken in for interrogation on Monday morning. Mira Road Police have filed an FIR against the accused and apprehended him late at night at CST railway station.

A police official said, the incident occurred between 1:30 and 2:00 am on Monday while Haifal was in custody at the Crime Branch for interrogation. The accused was handcuffed, and during a meal break, when one police officer went to get food, Haifal took advantage of the situation, attacked Constable Jaykumar Rathod with an iron rod, removed the handcuffs, and escaped from the premises.

(with PTI inputs)