Daswant, the 23-year old mechanical engineer accused of the rape and murder of a seven-year-old as well as the killing of his mother, has escaped police custody near the Mumbai airport on Thursday evening, Chennai police sources said.
A police team from Chennai city was escorting him to Chennai after he was said to be nabbed from his hide out in Mumbai on Wednesday.
The team was said to be taking Daswant to a hotel to have food at around 4.30 pm and asked permission to use a toilet when he allegedly took to heels along with his handcuff. Police said the escape took
place close to Hotel Satellite, near Vile Parle police station, which is a few meters away from the Mumbai airport.
He was earlier produced in a court at Bandra and the Tamil Nadu police obtained a transit warrant to take him to Chennai. The Mumbai police has issued high alert to all police stations and the deputy
commissioners of police are are to look into their respective jurisdiction.
A senior police officer said, the accused was handcuffed and cannot easily disappear as a common person, hence will be nabbed soon. However, Chennai city police commissioner A K Viswanathan got in touch with his counterpart in Mumbai and sought help to narrow down on the culprit.
The accused was arrested from Race Course in Mumbai and was to reach the city on Wednesday night itself. "But we could not get a flight, the team was to bring him on Thursday, when he escaped," said the
source.
S Daswant was first arrested in February for allegedly raping and killing of a 7-year-old girl who was also living in the same apartment complex at Mugalivakkam. He subsequently came out on bail after the
Madras High Court quashed his detention under Goondas Act.
He went absconding on December 2, the day his mother, Sarala was found killed in her house and police suspect Daswant killed her as she refused to give him money.