COIMBATORE: A 31-year-old prisoner, who was being treated at the prisoner ward in Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) for epilepsy, escaped from police custody, on Thursday. According to sources, the prisoner, who is under trial, was arrested for allegedly sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl in the same locality on September 6, 2019.
Based on a complaint made by the girl’s parents, he was arrested under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and was detained in Coimbatore central prison. Further, the Tirupur Rural Police invoked Goondas Act on him on October 2, last year. Meanwhile, the 31-year-old was admitted in CMCH for epilepsy on January 31 and was getting treatment at the prisoner ward in the hospital.
The police said that on Thursday, around at 4:30 am, the suspect went to the restroom in the ward and did not return for a long time. When the police broke open the door of the restroom, they found that he had escaped by bending the steel rods of a window. A complaint was lodged with the Race Course police by the prison department and search is on to find the man on the run.