11 escape from mental hospital in AP

Freedom cut short

In a daring feat, at least 11 undertrial prisoners, of which seven have been nabbed, fled from the Institute of Mental Health in Eragadda, where they were undergoing treatment for mental sickness,  the police said on Tuesday.

The incident occurred in the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday, when a prisoner named Qureshi, facing cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and other Sections of the IPC, made a hole in the wall of the ward using a heavy oxygen cylinder and other medical equipment, to slip out and flee along with some others, they said.

Qureshi was recently shifted to hospital for treatment from the Chanchalguda Jail.

Soon, the police swung into action and special teams caught seven of them. A manhunt has been launched to nab the other four prisoners, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West Zone) V Satyanarayana said. He (Qureshi) was angry after not being permitted to meet his second wife on Monday night as part of “mulaqat”, Satyanarayana said.

A hospital official said that since the day Qureshi was admitted to hospital, he behaved violently and regularly threatened doctors, nurses, hospital staff and even police personnel deployed to oversee “mulaqat” timings.

On Monday, Qureshi's second wife had come to visit him around 8 pm and as it was past visiting time, she was not allowed to meet him. Angered, Qureshi closed the ward from inside and threatened other patients with a cable wire. As the situation was getting out of hand, hospital staff informed the S R Nagar police.

Meanwhile, Qureshi made a hole in the wall and escaped along with some others.  Out of 11 undertrial prisoners who had escaped,  two were lodged in the Chanchalguda Jail.