Pratapgarh: Four policemen have been booked for alleged negligence after a rape accused managed to escape from a medical college, officials said on Saturday.
The accused, identified as Javed alias Chand Babu (28), has also been named in the FIR registered late Friday night, officials said.
According to Additional Superintendent of Police (East) Shailendra Lal, the incident is linked to a case registered on December 20, when Javed allegedly attempted to rape a 10-year-old girl at Udaidiha Bazaar under the Kotwali Patti police station limits. An FIR was lodged against him under provisions of rape and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act following a complaint by the victim’s family.
Lal said the accused sustained a leg injury during a police encounter near Amapur turn on the intervening night of December 23 and 24. He was subsequently admitted to the emergency ward of the medical college on December 24 for treatment.
Sub-inspector Keshav Prasad and constables Vinod Singh, Adarsh Yadav and Gulshan Kumar were deployed to guard the accused at the hospital. However, the officer said Javed allegedly managed to escape from the medical college later the same day by slipping past the policemen.
Police have launched a search operation to trace the absconding accused, while further investigation into the lapse by the deployed personnel is underway.
