Biratnagar, October 26

Two people arrested on charges of abducting and murdering Mohammad Asfak, a Grade X student, have made a dramatic escape from police custody in the eastern city of Biratnagar.

Mohammad Saddim Husain and Mohammad Aarif Alam apparently used a hacksaw to cut off six of the eight iron rods from the window of the custody of Area Police Office in Rani at around 1:00am to 3:00am today to sneak out. The custody room has two ventilations on its eastern wall. Police came to know about the incident hours later.

Police have not been able to say how the two gained access to the hacksaw while in custody, where people are not allowed to possess anything that can be used as a tool to break free or commit suicide. Police also have not been able to say why no one heard the noise when the bars were being cut.

Seven police officials were on duty at the time of the incident. Of these, two, who were guarding the custody room — Head Constable Jiralal Rauniyar and Constable Jagannath Baske — have been suspended. These two, who are suspected of colluding with the jail-breakers, and five others, who were on duty when the duo escaped, have been taken in for questioning. The police station in-charge, Inspector Santosh Niraula, was on leave when the incident took place.

“We are doing all we can to track them down as they could flee to India,” Deputy Superintendent of Police Nishan Thapa, who is based at District Police Office in Morang, said, without elaborating.

A committee under DSP Thapa has been formed to probe the matter. It has been given five days to submit a report, according to Morang Police Chief Manoj Kumar KC.

Area Police Office, Rani, had arrested as many as 19 people on suspicion of abduction and murder of the tenth grader, who attended Gautam Buddha School in Biratnagar. The two, who fled today, were kept in a separate cell.

Asfak had gone missing on September 17 and his body was found in decayed condition inside a hume pipe on September 23. The two, who escaped from police custody today, had allegedly demanded a ransom of Rs 5 million to release Asfak.