Mumbai: A magistrate court has sentenced a 41-year-old man to six months of rigorous imprisonment for giving a slip to escort police of Taloja prison in 2017 when he was taken to the state’s JJ Hospital for a test.
The man, Mohammad Siddiqui, was in prison after being arrested in a theft case at Borivali and was in custody during its investigation. After his escape, he was apprehended only over two months later after a search in Jogeshwari area on receiving information.
May 2017 incident
The incident happened on May 25, 2017 when he was taken to the hospital for testing a suspected tumour in his neck. Police constable Bapu Chaudhari was assigned to take the accused and was accompanied by a colleague. Siddiqui was to undergo further tests at the pathology department, when he fled their watch as the policemen left him unsupervised for a moment. The policemen searched for him at the hospital and could not find him. Siddiqui was charged under Sec 224 of the IPC (escape or attempt to escape from lawful custody). It is punishable by up to two years jail.
The two policemen had appeared as prosecution witnesses during the trial and narrated the incident. After Siddiqui was found guilty, he had requested for leniency and said that his family was dependent on him.
Metropolitan Magistrate AA Walujkar considered while deciding the sentence, that the accused is not a law-abiding citizen as he had escaped from legalcustody and had escaped from criminal procedures and authorities - jail and police. The court, however, considered his family situation and said six months jail would meet the ends of justice.
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