Exposing the rut in Sipajhar police station in Assam, two bike lifters managed to escape from the lockup, reports on Saturday claimed. The duo was caught by locals earlier and handed over to the police, however, they managed to break free from police custody.
The two suspects accused of the bike theft were identified as Nirmal Deka and Nayan Deka. They were nabbed last night in Gorukhuti village and subsequently were handed over to the police.
The duo had been nabbed from the residence of one Tileswar Deka. After the Sipajhar police took over their custody, a successive operation led to the capture of two others — Tileswar Deka and Bulen Nath.
Upon searching the residence of Tileswar, the police found four motorcycles. However, the escape of two of the accused has left the locals angered.
One of the villagers said, "After we handed them over, we saw that the police personnel were not taking appropriate measures. Neither were the accused put in lockup, nor were they handcuffed. Moreover, they were just standing near the just allowed sit near the police station gates. There was no one to even man the suspects."
"We were being asked questions by senior police officials. Finding an opportunity, the duo made a run for it. It is such a sad state of affairs, we worked so hard to nab them. We took them to the police and handed them over. We basically did their work for them and they could not even keep the accused in lockup," the man said.
Moreover, there was a scuffle between the constables over who was to guard the suspects after they fled. Calling it a matter of shame, the villagers even raised questions over the police's role in helping the accused flee having taken money from them.