Mumbai: In a bizarre incident, a Bangladeshi prisoner tried to scale 22-feet wall at Arthur Road jail to escape, after he was allowed outside cell for namaz. The accused couldn’t escape and in process injured his legs during the fall from the wall and was arrested by the police.
The accused has been identified as Roman Islam Hussain (27), a Bangladeshi national who was arrested just 10 days ago for illegal immigration. Even though he had been behind bars for less than a fortnight, police said detention had taken its toll on Hussain, especially because none of his family members had showed up to visit him in the prison.
The accused Hussain thought all his Ramzan prayers had been answered when he was let out of his cell on the morning of Eid to offer namaz along with other under trials. The inmates were led to an open barrack (number 1) for their prayers, right next to the spot where a new barrack was being built along the boundary wall. Hussain spotted the scaffolding along the wall and hatched a plan to escape. He spotted a tree outside the wall and thought it would be easy to climb down its branches, but Hussain failed miserably in his plan and got injured as well. But around 11.20 am, when he had climbed the scaffolding, Hussain realised the tree was too far to jump to, and he would just have to leap 22 ft to the ground.
“Hussain jumped from the edge of the wall and first fell on a State Reserve Protection Force (SRPF) vehicle that was stationed outside. Then he fell from the vehicle, injuring his legs in the process,” said an officer from NM Joshi Marg police station, reported Mid-Day. “Undeterred, Hussain tried to run but by this time, the security personnel had already been alerted and they caught up with him,” added the officer.
He is currently at JJ Hospital, where his leg injuries are being treated, said the police. “On the complaint of a jail constable, Sachin Jadhav, a fresh FIR was registered against him under Section 224 (resistance or obstruction by a person to his lawful apprehension) of the IPC,” said an inspector at NM Joshi Marg police station. The jail officials said they are now going to fast-track their plans to install electric wiring along the wall to prevent future attempts to escape by prisoners and also the height of barracks is also being raised to accommodate more inmates.