An undertrial prisoner escaped during transfer from Ahmedabad Civil Hospital to Sabarmati Central Jail after police allegedly diverted the journey to Vastral, prompting Ramol police to register a case against assistant sub-inspector Rajesh Dayaram and the prisoner.
The complaint was filed by B D Kotak, an armed police inspector posted at Shahibaug police headquarters. It states that the incident came to light on October 29, when the police control room received a message at 7.49pm from an ASI deployed with the Civil Hospital lock-up guard. The initial message claimed that the undertrial had escaped near Meldi Mata temple at Dudheshwar Circle by taking advantage of a traffic jam.
A subsequent inquiry, however, reportedly identified Nirant Crossroads in Vastral as the location of the escape. The discrepancy between the first account and the later finding became a central part of the complaint against the escorting officer.
According to the complaint, the prisoner had been admitted to Civil Hospital on October 28 after his health deteriorated while he was being taken from Sabarmati Central Jail to a hearing at the City Sessions Court in Bhadra on October 27. Acting on the court’s directions, police shifted him to the hospital and placed him in the F-1 lock-up under police guard.
Doctors discharged the undertrial at around 3.30pm on October 29. The lock-up in-charge allegedly instructed the officer concerned and another policeman to arrange the prisoner’s transfer back to Sabarmati Central Jail. The complaint states that Dayaram told colleagues he was related to the prisoner and would personally escort him to the jail. After making an entry in the register, he left with the undertrial at around 4pm.
Instead of proceeding directly to Sabarmati Central Jail, the ASI allegedly took the prisoner towards Vastral. The undertrial escaped near Nirant Crossroads, according to the complaint. During questioning at Madhavpura police station, Dayaram reportedly said that the escape had taken place in Vastral, contradicting the earlier information given to the police control room.
The complaint further alleges that the ASI acted without arranging an official vehicle or taking adequate additional personnel for the transfer. Such arrangements are required for transporting an undertrial prisoner, according to the allegations recorded in the police complaint. The case names both the ASI and the escaped undertrial.
The prisoner was facing charges in a Naroda case involving repeated rape, obscene abuse, assault and criminal intimidation. The allegations against the ASI remain subject to investigation, while the police complaint records the account of the escort failure and the subsequent escape. The immediate official action described in the report is the registration of the case and investigation into the prisoner’s route, the security arrangements and the conflicting accounts of where the escape occurred.
