On Tuesday, a 21-year-old accused of kidnapping and raping a minor fled from the clutches of jail authorities after they brought him in for a medical checkup. The youth was under the custody of Adharwadi district central jail authority.
The accused, identified as Atul Salve, was under judicial custody for eloping with a minor girl under the pretense of marrying her. The girl was less than two weeks shy of turning 18.
Salve managed to escape from police custody after he was brought in for a checkup at Central Hospital in Thane on Tuesday morning.
While speaking to Asian Age, an official attached to Central police station said, “The accused had constantly complained about his health. On Monday, he started vomiting, so the jail officials decided to take him to the hospital Tuesday morning. On Tuesday, Salve along with two more accused, identified as Nadir Naushad Ali (51) and Vijay Subhash Dete (25) were brought to the Central hospital on Tuesday.”
“He was brought to ward number 17 of the OPD of Central Hospital. Salve then shoved aside the three officials and bolted. The three officials were unable to trace him and so lodged a complaint with the Central police station,” he added.
Immediately after his escape, Central police station in Kalyan filed an FIR against the accused under relevant sections of the Indian Penal code and launched a manhunt to track him down.
After Salve is caught, authorities will take a call on whether to take action against the officials who allowed him to escape.