A convict, undergoing a 20-year jail term, managed to run away from custody while being taken to a hospital only to be captured from a gambling den a few hours later.
Mehfooz Miyan was arrested by the Mumbai Narcotics Control Bureau in 2002, convicted under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and awarded a 20-year jail term. He has been behind bars since then.
In jail, Mehfooz was diagnosed with diabetes and heart problems for which he was being treated at a Delhi hospital.
Whenever his presence was required, he was taken to the hospital by a police escort team.
On Sunday night, Mehfooz was being taken to Delhi on one such visit. As the train was scheduled to arrive at Rampur station at 11 pm, the convict somehow managed to convince the policemen accompanying him to take his handcuffs off and allow him to move out of the station for some work, assuring them that he would return before the train's arrival, said Rampur police inspector Ram Raghav Mishra.
The policemen agreed and taking advantage of the situation, Mehfooz fled. He went to a gambling den where bets were being placed on the outcome of a cricket match, he added.
Around 9 pm, a police team raided the gambling den and nabbed Mehfooz and two of his accomplices, Farooq and Mohsin. The owner of the gambling den, Majid, managed to flee.
The inspector immediately informed the district police chief who put the two erring policemen, Momraj and Atul Kumar, under suspension and directed their arrest. However, both are untraceable since then.
Mehfooz, Farooq and Mohsin were presented in a court here before being sent to jail, said Mishra.
