A 21-year-old man, who was arrested on rape charges by the Chakop police, escaped from the police van on Wednesday when he was being escorted for a COVID test to the civic run Shatabdi Hospital. The accused, identified as Avinash Yadav, was in handcuffs at the time of the incident. While a case has been registered and a search was initiated, Yadav is yet to be traced and investigation is underway.
According to police, Yadav, who was held for rape and POCSO charges on June 26, on the complaint of the parents of a 17-year-old teen, who is a resident of Laxmi Nagar Talav at Charkop Village in Kandivali (W). He was arrested after the teen's parents lodged a complaint against him after Yadav eloped with their teen daughter and had established intimate relations with her.
Yadav was remanded in police custody till Wednesday and was being escorted to Shatabdi Hospital for an antigen testing, as per the norms. When the police van stopped at a traffic signal near MG Road, Yadav took advantage of the situation, pushed the constable holding the other end of the handcuffs and jumped out of the vehicle.
Police have registered a second case against Yadav for fleeing police custody and a search for him is underway.
