Prime accused in BJP leader’s murder escapes from police custody

Forty-year-old Mulki Rafique, the prime accused in the murder of BJP leader Sukhananda Shetty in Mangalore recently, has escaped from the clutches of the police when he was being taken to Mysore jail from Mangalore.

Superintendent of Dakshina Kannada district police B Dayanand told reporters that a five-member team of policemen was escorting Rafique to Mysore in an open police jeep after producing him in a Mangalore court. “When the jeep reached Devarkolli in the midst of a forest range in the dead of the night, the handcuffed Rafique pushed the police constable seated next to him, jumped off the jeep and escaped in the forests under the cover of darkness”.

Dayanand said the Rafique escaped when the jeep had to slow down due to a bad stretch of road. He ran into the adjoining forests with handcuffs intact. “Though policemen pursued him, they could not trace him”, he added. All the five policemen have been placed under suspension.

The escort policemen found it difficult to requisition additional forces to hunt down Rafique as they could not manage to contact senior police officials due to absence of wireless connectivity in the forest areas. The news about Rafique’s sensational escape reached the senior police officials more than an hour after the incident.

However, police teams from nearby Madikeri town reached the spot and began combing operations, but to no avail.

Rafique, who had been nabbed by the police on December 29, had been arrested on charges of conspiring to murder Sukhananda Shetty. He had been lodged at Mysore jail. He was brought to Mangalore from Mysore jail on Wednesday. He was produced before the Mangalore court on Friday.

Meanwhile, combing operations were continuing in the region with police personnel checking all vehicles passing through the area. “We don’t have any clue if he is still hiding in the dense forests of Devarkolli”, Dayanand said.

According police sources, a private vehicle was spotted trailing the police jeep carrying Rafique. “It is still not clear whether Rafique had managed to escape in the private car or is still hiding in the forests”, police officials said. It has been learnt that the police officials have been instructed to shoot the fugitive if he puts any resistance or tries to escape again in case he is found during search operations.

Police said Rafique is involved in a total of eighteen criminal cases so far, including five cases related to murder and four attempts to murder.