Criminal who killed cop escapes from Midnapore correctional home

An under-trail prisoner who was charged with the murder of a policeman has fled from Midnapore Central Correctional Home on Tuesday.

The accused had earlier fled from the correctional home twice while serving judicial custody. The accused Karna Bera, a dreaded criminal, had earlier escaped from Contai Sub-correctional Home twice and once from the Tomluk District Hospital. Police said that there were serious charges like theft, dacoity against the accused besides that of murdering a policeman.

The accused had shot dead a policeman on January 7, 2016 in East Midnapore. The incident occurred when the victim police officer, Naba Kumar Hayait intercepted the accused while patrolling near Kanchanpur Bridge at Mahishadal area. The victim had asked the accused to show the bag he was carrying. The accused suddenly took out a gun and shot at him from point blank.

The victim officer was declared brought dead after being taken to a nearby hospital. The accused along with some other miscreants hurled bombs in the area to terrorise people and fled from the spot. After starting an investigation, police arrested the accused. Police said that various criminal cases were pending against the accused at various police stations in the district.

The accused was currently serving judicial custody in connection with the murder of the police officer. It was learnt that the accused fled from the correctional home early on Tuesday morning by breaking an iron rod of the jail. The matter was immediately informed to the local police station by the jail authorities.

Police started a raid to nab the accused. The correctional home authorities were probing if there was any negligence by any of its staff. An inquiry has been initiated to probe the incident.