Hyderabad: At least 11 undertrial prisoners undergoing treatment for mental sickness at the Institute of Mental Health in Eragadda here escaped from the prisoners ward of the mental hospital even as seven of them were nabbed later from different parts of the city, police said on Tuesday.
The incident occurred last night when a prisoner Qureshi, facing cases under NDPS Act and other sections of IPC and lodged at the Chanchalguda Jail (who was recently shifted to the hospital for mental sickness) made a hole in the wall of the ward using a medical equipment and slipped out and fled along with some others, they said.
Soon police swung into action and special teams caught seven of them. A hunt has been launched to nab the remaining four prisoners, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West Zone) V. Satyanarayana said.
"He (Qureshi) was angry after not being permitted to meet his second wife last night as part of 'mulaqat' and resorted to this act," the DCP said.
A hospital official said, "Since the day he was admitted in the hospital he behaved violently and regularly threatened the doctors, nurses, hospital staff and even police personnel deployed on duty over 'mulaqat' timings."
Monday night, Qureshi's second wife came visiting him at around 8 pm and as it was beyond the permission time of the mulaqat, she was not allowed to meet him.
"Angered, Qureshi closed the ward from inside and threatened other patients with a cable wire. As the situation was getting out of hand we informed the S R Nagar police," he said adding in the meanwhile, Qureshi made a hole in the wall and escaped along with some others.
Out of 11 undertrial prisoners who had escaped, two including Qureshi were lodged in Chanchalguda Jail here while others were from Warangal.
Earlier, six life convicts from Cherlapally Central prison escaped from the prisoners ward of the Erragadda Mental Hospital in December 2011, after breaking the small iron bars of the ward's ventilator but they too were subsequently nabbed.
