Goa: Prisoner escapes after accomplices attack police escort with pepper spray, fire shots in air

Police said Gautam escaped after midnight when one of the policemen was doing paperwork while the other looked for the ambulance

An undertrial prisoner escaped with the help of two men on Wednesday after they attacked the policemen escorting him at a hospital with pepper spray. They also fired gunshots.

Representational photo. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Vivek Kumar Gautam, who faced trial for an alleged robbery attempt, was in handcuffs at the hospital where he was taken with complaints of stomach uneasiness and vomiting.

Police said Gautam escaped after midnight when one of the policemen was doing paperwork while the other looked for the ambulance to take them back to the Goa central jail. Gautam took advantage of the situation and ran towards the hospital gates, where the two men attacked the policemen chasing him with the spray. They fired in the air using a country-made revolver forcing the policemen to back off.

“We have intensified our search efforts to try and nab the three. It clearly was a pre-planned move and points to the use of mobile phones within the jail. We have recovered the used cartridges from the scene and have begun interrogating key persons including the ambulance driver who went missing at the time of discharge,” said senior divisional police officer Gajanan Prabhudesai.

This is the third such escape involving undertrials at the central jail this year. One of them has been found while Ramchandran Yellapa, who is accused of raping and robbing a British tourist, remains on the run.