Uttarakhand police seemed to have taken no lesson from the previous incidents of jail inmates escaping from police custody while being taken to the court for hearing.
In all, three such incidents have been reported in the State over the past eight months.
One more incident reported from Haridwar district has laid bare the fact that police are still ill-prepared to stop such daring escapades. The latest has left the State and district police red-faced. Earlier in May 2015, a convict Zakir Hussain, a native of Haryana, who was lodged in Haridwar jail, escaped from a speeding train while being taken to court at Haldwani from Haridwar. He gave the police escorts a slip while he pretended going to the train’s toilet. Husain serving life imprisonment for murder of a woman was shifted for security reasons to Haridwar jail from Haldwani jail in 2013. He had escaped while being taken to Haldwani in connection with a case pending before family court over some disputes with his wife.
In another incident, on December 15, 2014 Amit Malik alias Bhura had escaped from a police custody while being taken to the court in Baghpat where he was taken in connection with a murder case. The gangsters managed to give the armed escort of Bhura a slip by sprinkling chili powder on the cops and helped him escape.
In the sensational escapade that triggered ripples across the State, the gangsters got get away with two AK-47 rifles and one self-loading rifle (SlR) which they had snatched away from the escorting cops. Sitting up in alarm, Director General of Police BS Sidhu had earlier strictly directed the district police officers to ensure that adequate policemen were deployed to escort the criminals when they are being taken to appear in the court. Instruction was issued to ensure that the policemen to be deputed for escorting the notorious criminals should be informed in details of the antecedents of those to be escorted. The escort team members should be properly briefed by experienced police officers. Moreover, the jail officials have been directed to keep strict vigil on the hardcore criminals in prisons too. Instruction was issued to the jail officials to check the belongings of the hardcore criminals daily and ensure that he does not use cell phone while being in jail.
“But it seems such instructions are ending in smoke as the cops on the ground level are still far from taking things in right earnest,” said an observer.