BENGALURU: A 35-year-old murder convict, who was undergoing treatment at the general ward of Victoria Hospital, escaped on Tuesday night. This is second such incident reported at the hospital; the previous one was in May, 2015.
The lifer, Masthi Kumar, a native of Shivamogga, was lodged at the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison after the Shivamogga session court convicted him in January, 2017 for murdering his wife. He had killed her in 2015, following a family dispute.
Kumar had meticulously planned his escape. He consumed considerable amount of phenyl on July 29 at the prison. Initially he was treated at the prison hospital, but on Monday was shifted to the Victoria for further treatment.
On Tuesday night Kumar removed the handcuffs and escaped from the hospital, after giving the security guards a slip. He escaped while the guards were changing the shifts. The incident came to light when the new guard came into the ward and found Kumar missing.
He informed his seniors and also alerted V.V. Puram police, who rushed to the spot and carried out a search near the hospital premises, but were not able to find him.
Masthi not the first, Previous incident in 2015
In a similar incident in May 2015, Shivakumar, a lifer, had escaped from Victoria Hospital. However, he was caught within 24 hours at the Mysuru Railway Station. He was sent to the hospital as a helper to look after another jail inmate.
