10 of Govt Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) on Saturday morning. Nagpur: A history-sheeter, charged in an attempt-to-murder case during a gang clash in Khaparkheda, slipped out of police custody from Ward No.
Sameer was admitted to GMCH on Sept 17 for treatment of ailments that required surgery. Sameer was arrested on Aug 9. A magistrate remanded him to judicial custody on Aug 12, and he was lodged in Nagpur Central Jail before being shifted to GMCH Ajni for medical care on Sept 17.
Multiple teams of Nagpur city police, including Crime Branch units and Ajni police, have launched a manhunt.
Police sources said MCOCA provisions were later invoked in the same gang-war case, making him a high-risk prisoner. Having several cases against him, Sheikh Sameer alias Gomtya Sheikh Rahim, a resident of Chittaranjan Nagar in Kamptee, was slapped with the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in the latest crime for which he was arrested. Khaparkheda police have registered an offence against Sameer for attempted murder. The case arose from a gang confrontation in the Khaparkheda area in August. Khaparkheda police, who originally registered the offence and arrested him, and Kamptee police, in whose jurisdiction his house is located, have been alerted.
Around 10am on Saturday, Sameer asked the police guard at the ward for permission to use the toilet.
The escape has raised questions about hospital security for under-trial prisoners, especially the absence of grills on the aluminium window.