After 4-yr search, fugitive convict caught in burger joint

 In a joint operation, the prison staff and West Division police on Thursday caught a convict who was at large for the past four years.

Shanker (41), was convicted on July 12, 2004 in the abduction of a businessman’s son in 2001. The court had sentenced him to life imprisonment. Shanker had escaped from custody twice in the past, exposing chinks in the prison’s security.

Shankar obtained parole in 2011 but never returned. The police launched a manhunt and arrested him within a few months, said a senior officer.

Fled from hospital

In January 2013, a team of 20 convicts which included Shanker, was taken to Victoria Hospital for treatment. On the pretext of answering the nature’s call, he went into the washroom and fled from there.

The police and prison officers made several attempts to trace him, but in vain, said the police.
Recently, one of the reformed convicts met Krishna Kumar, the chief superintendent (Prisons), Central Prisons, Parappana Agrahara and told him he knew of Shanker’s whereabouts. He also told the officer that Shanker was often using multiple disguises to evade arrest.

Based on his leads, the police tried to arrest Shanker when he was moving around in Vijayanagar, but failed.

Near Gopalan Mall

“We received information that Shanker was moving around in Gopalan Mall on Mysuru Road on Thursday,” said a senior police officer.

“On our request, the police informants clicked Shanker’s picture and shared it with us. We matched his pictures with those in our records and confirmed his identity. Rajarajeshwarinagar and the Byatarayanapura police station staff were sent to the spot, while a team from the Parappana Agrahara prison immediately left for the mall,” he said.Shanker was relishing burgers at the mall when the police arrested him.