COIMBATORE: After a two-day-long intensive search, a special team of the Coimbatore district police on Monday evening arrested the remand prisoner who escaped from police custody on the Coimbatore Central Prison campus in the early hours of Saturday. Director General of Police (DGP) Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal confirmed the arrest.
The 37-year-old prisoner, K Raghavan alias Kozhikkaran, a Sri Lankan national facing criminal cases in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, escaped between 12.30 am and 12.45 am when he was brought to the prison for admission after being produced before a Fast Track Court Magistrate on Friday night. His escape triggered a massive search operation involving several special police teams from Coimbatore city and district.
Raghavan, who faces nine cases, including those related to robbery, snatching and assault, was arrested by Annur police on Friday, nearly four months after he escaped from Karnataka police custody while being transported from Coimbatore prison on June 19. He was reportedly staying at a refugee camp in Bhavanisagar in Erode district.
According to police sources, four personnel, including a sub-inspector, who were escorting him to the prison, were temporarily suspended for alleged negligence of duty.
The escape, reported within a week of a similar prison breach in Theni, has raised concerns over security arrangements at correctional facilities.
After the incident, the state prison department temporarily halted outgang duties across the state, directing inmates deployed at petrol bunks, prison bazaars, poultry units and gardens to return to their respective prisons. Sources said the order was issued to all nine central prisons.
The incident occurred after four police personnel brought Raghavan through the prison's west gate on Dr Nanjappa Road late on Friday night, when they were busy with his remand process inside the prison campus.
Though the personnel chased him, he escaped into nearby thickets. Police stations in surrounding areas were alerted, and teams began checking CCTV footage and searching roads and nearby locations.
CCTV footage reportedly showed him near the LIC Junction on Avinashi Road about an hour after his escape, heading towards Balasundaram Road. He was nabbed near Bhavani Sagar and then brought to Coimbatore for further investigation, said police sources.
