New Delhi: A 33-year-old man, who had escaped from police custody last month while undergoing treatment for COVID-19 at a hospital here, was arrested by Delhi Police’s Special Cell, officials said on Sunday. The accused has been identified as Soni alias Mehtab, a resident of Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh and is involved in more than 10 cases, including murder, attempt to murder, robbery, dacoity and kidnapping and assault, they said.
The police claimed to have recovered onesemi-automatic pistol, one shell which he fired when the the police tried to apprehended him and three live cartridges. On September 18, the accused had escaped from police custody at LNJP hospital where he was undergoing treatment for COVID-19. After escaping, Mehtab had taken a room on rent in the Sonia Vihar area and hiding, police said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Pramod Singh Kushwah said since his escape from police custody, information was being gathered about his hideouts and discreet surveillance had been mounted on his associates in the Delhi-NCR region. “Police received information on Thursday that Mehtab would come to the Khajuri Khas area to meet his associate on October 2. A raiding team was formed and a trap was laid. “Mehtab was spotted and when asked to surrender, he whipped out his pistol and fired at the members of the raiding party, but no one was hurt. Mehtab was finally overpowered and disarmed,” he said.
During interrogation, he disclosed that on September 14, he was arrested in a case of theft registered at Rajiv ChowkMetro police station and was sent to Tihar Jail where he was subsequently found coronavirus positive. Thereafter, he was admitted in LNJP hospital in police custody for treatment, the DCP said. On September 18, Mehtab went to the toilet and escaped from the hospital through a small window of the building.A case in this regard was registered at I P Estate police station, he said.
Mehtab had started indulging in criminal activities about 15 years ago. In 2011, when he was lodged in Tihar Jail in a case of robbery, a fellow prisoner named Sajid had attempted to kill him by slashing his face and neck with a surgical blade. After being released from jail on bail, Mehtab with his associates kidnapped Sajid’s wife from GTB Enclave to take revenge of the attack on him. In this case, he was subsequently convicted for seven years imprisonment by a trial court, the DCP said.
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