AHMEDABAD: An 11-hour manhunt ended with the arrest of a rape accused who had allegedly escaped from police custody at SSG Hospital in Gujarat's Vadodara by taking advantage of a brief lapse during medical treatment.
The accused, Govind Rameshbhai Mahonia, who was lodged in Vadodara Central Jail in connection with a rape case and offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, allegedly fled from the hospital while under police escort on Thursday.
According to police, Mahonia was brought to Ward No. 5 of SSG Hospital on August 6 for treatment for a skin ailment.
During the medical procedure, he was scheduled to receive two injections. At around 11.45 am, police briefly removed his handcuffs near the hospital canteen to allow doctors to administer the second injection.
Sensing an opportunity, the accused allegedly shoved escorting policeman Jitendra Singh and sprinted away before security personnel could react.
Within seconds, the accused disappeared from the hospital premises and entered a nearby multistorey under-construction building, triggering a massive police operation.
Teams from the Raopura police station immediately sealed the area, surrounded the building and launched an extensive search.
Drone cameras were deployed to scan every floor of the unfinished structure while police repeatedly made announcements over loudspeakers, urging the accused to surrender peacefully.
"The accused exploited the brief moment when his handcuffs were removed for medical treatment. After pushing the escorting policeman, he escaped from the hospital premises and entered an under construction building. Despite surrounding the area and conducting an intensive search with drones and police teams, he managed to evade capture," a police officer said.
For nearly five hours, Raopura police searched the building and adjoining areas, but the accused remained untraceable. Following the escape, police registered a case under Section 262 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Raopura Police Station for escaping lawful custody and initiated a wider investigation.
As the local search failed to yield results, the Vadodara Crime Branch joined the operation and shifted its focus to intelligence gathering and electronic surveillance.
Investigators meticulously analysed CCTV footage from multiple locations while simultaneously activating their network of human sources. The exercise revealed that Mahonia was allegedly attempting to reach his residence near the Chhani Canal area.
Acting on the intelligence, Crime Branch officers mounted discreet surveillance and laid a trap at strategic locations around the area.
"Our teams analysed CCTV footage, developed human intelligence and tracked the accused's likely movements. Based on specific inputs, surveillance was mounted near Chhani Canal. As soon as the accused reached the area at around 10.30 pm, the Crime Branch team surrounded him, arrested him without incident and handed him over to the Raopura police," a senior Crime Branch officer said.
The arrest brought an end to the high profile manhunt and raised concerns over custodial security during hospital visits.
Police are now examining the circumstances that enabled the accused to escape and whether any procedural lapses by the escorting personnel contributed to the incident.