‘Pichchi Raja’ flees prison van, 5 cops suspended

An accused inmate escaped from police custody in Gazipur on Sunday night after he was taken off a prison van to use a toilet while being transported back to Kashimpur Central Jail-1 from a Dhaka metropolitan court.

The accused, Raja alias Pichchi Raja, 30, fled from the vehicle in the Baimail area around 8:30pm, police said.

Police and prison sources said 30 inmates had been brought from Kashimpur Central Jail to the Dhaka Metropolitan Court on Sunday morning for court proceedings. After the hearings, they were being taken back to the jail when Raja repeatedly shouted that he needed to use the toilet.

When the prison van reached Baimail, a sub-inspector accompanying the inmates got Raja off the vehicle to use a toilet. He then managed to flee, while the other 29 inmates were taken back to the jail.

Gazipur Metropolitan Police Acting Commissioner Mohammad Taherul Haque Chowhan said Raja had been taken off the vehicle after repeatedly saying he needed to use the toilet before escaping.
Police were investigating the incident, he said.

Kashimpur Central Jail Part-1 Jailer Jahangir Alam said Raja was an inmate in an explosives case.

Five police personnel have meanwhile been temporarily suspended over the escape. A three-member committee, headed by the DC Headquarters, has also been formed to investigate the incident, Taherul Haque Chowhan said.

Police arrested Raja, who is known as a top drug trader in Mohammadpur, on May 19 this year. Several cases have been filed against him, police said.