Mah: 5 dacoits escape from police custody

Akola, Sep 22: Five of the eight dacoits escaped from the police lockup of the city's Kotwali police station early today, all hailing from neighbouring Madhya Pradesh.

Police sources said the dacoits who escaped from the police lock up included Jivan Umal Baruniya, Gulshan alias Mukesh Mangliya, Kalla Umal Sathiya, Kasariya Karun Varuniya and Dulhera Jivan Varuniya, all are in the age groups of 25 to 28.

However, two others -- Kamlu Gazaya Varuniya and Ramesh Jivan Varuniya, who too had escaped -- have been rearrested, while the third inmate, Santosh Dahihande, has received a head injury in the incident.

The duty guard opened the door of the lock up as the dacoits wanted to answer nature's call at 0415 hrs. As soon as the lock up was opened, the dacoits escaped through the partially broken compound wall, police said.

All the eight dacoits were brought here from Sangli district on a transit order from Tasgaon court by a team of the local crime branch on September 16 and they were later remanded to police custody till September 29, police said.

All the dacoits were kept in police lock up at Kotwali by the local crime branch (LCB), which is investigating the dacoity committed by them on Dabki Road here last month, in which three jewellery shops were looted and booty worth Rs 40 lakh was stolen, police said.

The dacoits had committed such robberies at three places in the state in last 3 months. Of them, two were in Akola district and one in Sangli district, the home district of Home Minister R R Patil.

Three months ago, at Patur tahsil town in Akola district, (nearly 30 kms from here), dacoits had looted jewellery shops and booty including gold silver ornaments and cash worth Rs 30 lakh was looted.

One month ago, they committed the third dacoity at Palsu in Sangli district, where they robbed booty worth several lakhs of rupees, police added.

UNI