A dramatic escape plan executed to perfection helped a notorious undertrial prisoner get away from the Delhi Police personnel who were escorting him to a court in Haryana’s Jind district.
It was around 6.15 a.m. on Saturday that around eight to 10 men intercepted the Haryana Roadways bus in which the accused and the policemen were travelling.
The prisoner, Jitender Ghoga, had been arrested from Haryana last year in connection with over half-a-dozen heinous cases registered in Delhi. He was to be produced before a Haryana court in connection with a murder case registered there.
“Four policemen from Delhi Police’s Third Battalion had been assigned to escort him from Tihar Jail. The bus they were in was intercepted by two cars —a Hyundai i10 and a Maruti Swift — near Surya Roshni Factory, a little ahead of Bahadurgarh,” said Ashok Malik, DCP (Third Battalion).
The men emerged from the cars and boarded the bus. One of them held the driver at gunpoint while another took away the keys.
Initial investigation has revealed that four other men were inside the bus from the start of the journey. They used chilli powder to temporarily blind the policemen while their associates terrorised other passengers by firing in the air.
Cops tried to restrain
The criminals also took away the two MP5 guns the policemen were carrying.
Though some of the policemen recovered and tried to restrain the men as they were getting off the bus, they failed to hold Ghoga back.
However, a woman passenger displayed exemplary courage by snatching one of the two MP5 guns from the criminals, said a senior Haryana police officer.
In a last-ditch attempt, the policemen opened fire at the cars as the criminals drove away. While the window of one of the vehicles was damaged, it is not known if any criminal was injured.
The passengers in the bus, who were stranded because the criminals took away the keys, informed the police. A case in this connection has been registered at Bahadurgarh.
“We are tracking some suspects. One of the passengers also claimed to have noted the registration number of one of the cars, but we have to verify that,” said R.S. Randhawa, SP (Jhajjar).
While the local police are probing the matter, a parallel investigation has been launched by the Delhi Police’s Third Battalion. The role of the four policemen is also being verified.
