Hyderabad police have virtually no clue where the four COVID-19 positive fugitives, who escaped from Gandhi Hospital, vanished.
The four prisoners, including Parvatham Narsaiah, a life convict in rape and murder case, are yet to be traced even after 96 hours.
The north zone police said that they are clueless as the fugitives on the run have no mobile phones, neither their actions were recorded in CCTV cameras in the area, as many of them are not functioning nor they met the family members.
Repeated attempts were made by The Hindu to contact DCP Kalmeshwar Shingenavar, but he remained unavailable.
However, sources associated with the manhunt said, “They are not using mobile phones, they don’t have money and they are not meeting their parents or friends, as none of them is married. As a result, there is no breakthrough in the case.”
“Teams are sent to Maharashtra and Karnataka as well. We have alerted all our informants in both the Telugu states,” an officer said, adding that as the four prisoners spent most of their time behind bars, they don’t have a social life.
Police also suspect that the escaped prisoners must be taking shelter in religious places, as they don’t have money for food or travel.
“Our teams are also searching for them in religious places. There are no digital footprints. However, their family members are in our custody,” he said.
Earlier in 2010, Narsaiah escaped from the Institute of Mental Health, Erragadda while undergoing treatment. Later, he was caught and convicted again. “He was a member of a burglary gang. Three of his associates were killed in an encounter in Karimnagar in the early 2000s. Sentenced to life imprisonment in 2003, his prison term will end in three years,” he said.
The other escaped prisoners are Md. Abdul Arbaz (21) from Borabanda, Md. Javeed(35) of Bandlaguda and Mangali Somasunder (20) from Borabanda.
“We suspect all of them chose to go in different directions,” he said, hoping that the quartet will be held very soon.
It was in the wee hours of Thursday that the prisoners managed to escape from the high security prisoners’ ward on the second floor of Gandhi Hospital with bedsheets to hide their faces.