Chhattisgarh: Rape accused flees after locking police

In a major embarrassment for the Chhattisgarh police, a 22-year-old man, who was accused of raping a minor, managed to escape from a police station in Mahasamund district after “locking” the on-duty policemen inside the thana on late Monday night.

In a major embarrassment for the Chhattisgarh police, a 22-year-old man, who was accused of raping a minor, managed to escape from a police station in Mahasamund district after “locking” the on-duty policemen inside the thana on late Monday night.

A 22-year-old man, who was accused of raping a minor, managed to escape from a police station in Mahasamund district after “locking” the on-duty policemen inside the thana. (Illustration: Jayanto)

The accused Acharya Bhagwato was employed as a teacher at the Saraswati Shishu Mandir in Bhagatdevri and was arrested on the charges of kidnapping and raping a student of Class 6 of the same school. He was locked up in a police station at Sankara village.

“It’s a shocking incident which occurred because of gross negligence. A head constable and two constables have been suspended and we have launched a man-hunt to nab the culprit”, Sankara police station in-charge Loknath Yadav said.

The police have been caught red-faced after the episode with questions being raised over their role in the whole incident.

“The incident appears to have been stage-managed by the police. Otherwise, how could a single person, who himself is in custody, manage to lock the entire police force inside?” social activist Mamata Sharma said.