Prisoners ‘escort’ cops to police station

LUCKNOW - In a role reversal, two prisoners took into “custody” two drunk constables who were escorting them for a court hearing and took them to a police station

in Uttar Pradesh’s Bijnor district, officials said Friday.

The unlikely incident took place Thursday near a local court in this town, some 300 km from Lucknow, where two prisoners, booked under section 307 IPC (attempt to murder), were set free by the three police constables who had brought them from Jyotiba Phule Nagar district jail for the case’s hearing, police said.

The hearing could not take place due to some reason, and instead of accompanying the prisoners back to the jail, the three constables left the handcuffed prisoners near the court, telling them they would return soon.

After a long wait, the prisoners caught two of the constables who were in an inebriated state and reached a nearby police station. They asked the police officials there to send them back to their jail.

Confirming the incident, Jyotiba Phule Nagar’s Superintendent of Police Manjul Saini told IANS that the constables have been suspended and an enquiry initiated against them.

“During the enquiry it has been found that while two constables went to consume liquor, the other one went to meet some of his family members. Strict action would be taken against the three constables so that it serves as a deterrent for others,” she added.