A gangster serving life sentence, escaped from a government medical college cum hospital in Odisha on Saturday afternoon, after drugging the policeman in charge of his security, said police. However, the circumstances of his escape have cast a big shadow on the police department.
Sheikh Hyder, who was serving life sentence since 2015 in the case of murder of miner Rashmi Mohapatra, was brought to Srirama Chandra Bhanja (SCB) Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack, from Sambalpur circle jail, 28 days ago for a surgery. On Saturday afternoon, he was found missing from his bed in the surgery department by a nurse, who wanted to give the gangster a jab. She also found the sentry sleeping.
“When I arrived at the bed at 5.30 pm, I found the sentry sleeping. He woke him up, but he was disoriented. Hyder was not there on his bed,” said the nurse.
Senior police officials said there appeared to be clear laxity in the handling of the gangster’s security.
“It was the duty of police officials in Sambalpur (from where he was taken to Cuttack) to ensure his foolproof security. Just one armed police security was given. We did not even know that the gangster was being treated in SCB Medical College and Hospital since the last 28 days. We were informed only after he fled,” said Soumendra Priyadarshi, Bhubaneswar Cuttack police commissioner.
{{/usCountry}}“It was the duty of police officials in Sambalpur (from where he was taken to Cuttack) to ensure his foolproof security. Just one armed police security was given. We did not even know that the gangster was being treated in SCB Medical College and Hospital since the last 28 days. We were informed only after he fled,” said Soumendra Priyadarshi, Bhubaneswar Cuttack police commissioner.
{{/usCountry}}Cuttack deputy commissioner of police Prateek Singh said the lone security guard on duty was given a spiked soft drink by Hyder’s associates. However, another official claimed the guard was reportedly fed Hyderabadi biryani, spiked with drugs, before the gangster fled. Police said they were still investigating who helped Hyder inside the hospital.
That’s not the only mystery though; another police official said the circumstances of Hyder’s referral to SCB Medical College and Hospital were also not clear. “While there were reports that he was to be operated on his gallbladder, yet there are contradictory reports of him having different health issues. The doctors will have to be questioned,” said an official, who didn’t wish to be named.