Bhopal:
In an escape so ridiculous it could be a deleted scene from The Hangover, a robbery suspect managed to ditch jail guards during a doctor’s visit as they were busy getting massages at a spa centre in Madhya Pradesh.
A robbery was reported on December 25 in Madhya Pradesh’s Nagda town in Ujjain district. Five armed robbers breached the premises of Shiva Baba Liquor Company holding employees at gunpoint and fleeing with Rs 18 lakh in cash.
Subsequent investigations led to the arrest of Rohit Sharma, identified as the prime accused. Sharma was taken into custody and lodged in Khachrod Sub-Jail on January 5. However, his detention took an unexpected turn when he was granted medical attention due to a reported leg injury.
On Tuesday at 11 AM, jail guards Rajesh Srivastava and Nitin Dalodiya escorted Sharma to Khachrod Government Hospital for treatment. Standard protocol dictates that an accused should be returned to jail immediately after medical attention. However, by 6 PM, Sharma had not returned, prompting concerns and an internal inquiry.
Authorities soon discovered inconsistencies in the accounts provided by the two jail guards. This led to an urgent review of hospital CCTV footage. The recordings revealed that Sharma had walked out of the hospital between 12 PM and 12:30 PM – hours before his absence was officially noticed.
Further investigation uncovered an even more bizarre detail. Instead of escorting Sharma back to jail, the two guards allegedly took him nearly 30 kilometres away to a spa in Ratlam. While Sharma vanished, the guards reportedly indulged in a massage session at the facility.
CCTV footage from the spa centre suggests Sharma too got a massage. One of the videos shows the suspect hurriedly leaving one of the massage rooms while in the process of putting on a t-shirt before escaping through a door.
Following a formal complaint by Khachrod Jail Superintendent Surendra Singh Ranawat, police registered a case against both jail guards and Rohit Sharma under Sections 262 and 264 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS).
According to Ujjain Superintendent of Police (SP) Pradeep Sharma, both the jail guards have been suspended. An FIR has been registered against them for aiding in the escape.
With Sharma still missing, multiple police teams have been deployed to track him down.
