An “ingenious” move by cops to arrange time for sound sleep has landed them in troubles.

As they lay enjoying sound sleep after locking the room with handcuffs with prisoners inside, the criminals fled the scene after breaking open the window panes, prompting departmental action against the sleep-loving cops.

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As per reports, the under-trial prisoners were admitted to a hospital in Araria district in the weekend after they fell sick and required immediate medical attention.

However, as the night fell the cops deployed in their security got anxious about their comfort and hit upon an idea to have sound sleep without getting themselves awake the whole night looking after the prisoners.

Under part of the idea, the cops removed the handcuff of a prisoner and locked the main gate of the hospital room with it, hoping to enjoy night without any disturbances. But this brought a new trouble instead.

Reports said as the cops slept outside after locking the hospital room with handcuff, the notorious prisoners broke open the window panes and quietly fled the scene. The incident came to light after the doctors on duty asked the cops to open the room for the medical check-ups of the prisoners admitted there.

“They escaped by breaking the window panes while the policemen on duty were found snoring after locking the door of the ward with handcuff,” a hospital official told the media pleading not to be named.

The absconding prisoners have been identified as Narayan Tatma facing murder charge and Sanoj Kumar who was arrested on theft charges.
Authorities have taken the negligence by cops serious and announced to initiate stern action against them.

“We have taken the matter very seriously and action is being taken against the erring cops,” a local sub-divisional police official KD Singh said. He said raids were also being conducted to nab the absconding prisoners. Both the undertrial prisoners were lodged in the local jail.

The escape of prisons from police custody or jails is quite common in Bihar. Last year, as many as 34 juvenile inmates had fled a remand home in Munger after cutting through the iron grills of the main gates. Quite many of them were facing murder and rape charges.

In December 2016, five convicts, including four serving life imprisonment had fled a central jail in Buxur district by scaling the boundary wall with the help of long clothes. Five more prisoners fled from the court lock-up in Jamui district through a tunnel in January 2014. They had been brought to the court appearance in separate cases pending in the court.