KOCHI: A Kasaragod youth who was detained in connection with multiple theft cases that he committed on board trains, escaped on Friday through the window of the toilet of the Railway Police Station at Ernakulam Junction railway station on Friday. Ibrahim Badhusha, 25, of Pakkam near Bekal in Kasargod, broke the toilet window and fled.
The police said Badhusha was involved in multiple cases of thefts on trains, and mostly targeted mobile phones, handbags and wallets. Most recently, he was named in theft cases registered at Alappuzha and Kollam railway police stations. Both the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Railway Police had been searching for him for the past several weeks. The RPF took Badhusha into custody from the railway station on Thursday night and handed him over to the Railway Police. “He was to be produced before the magistrate on Friday. After spending the night at the police station, he sought permission to use the toilet in the morning. Knowing his history, a police official accompanied him and stood outside,” said an officer.
When he did not come out of the toilet after several minutes, the policemen got suspicious and broke open the door, only to find him gone. “He sneaked out of the station by breaking the small window of the toilet. He had turned on the tap to drown any noise,” said an officer.
The Railway Police and RPF have launched a manhunt for Badhusha and alerted other police stations in Kochi and neighbouring districts.
“All the police stations in Kochi are on alert. The RPF is checking railway stations and trains. The KSRTC bus station area is also being monitored. We have information about the possible places he might go to. We have checked CCTV cameras on the railway station premises too. He will be nabbed soon,” said a police officer.