Kalaburagi, July 3 (IANS) In a major security lapse, a 24-year-old accused arrested under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act escaped from the Afzalpur police station in Karnataka’s Kalaburagi district in the early hours of Friday, allegedly taking advantage of police personnel being asleep.

The incident, which occurred at the Afzalpur police station, has caused considerable embarrassment to the police as it took place in Kalaburagi, the home district of Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge.

The accused had been arrested about a week ago in connection with a POCSO case and was being held in the police station lock-up as part of the ongoing investigation.

According to the police, the case was registered after the parents of a 16-year-old girl from a village under the jurisdiction of the Afzalpur police station lodged a missing person complaint. During the investigation, police found that the accused, a 24-year-old man from the same village, had allegedly lured the minor by pretending to be in love with her and abducted her.

Acting on credible information that the accused and the minor were staying in Pune, Maharashtra, an Afzalpur police team, accompanied by the girl’s parents, travelled to Pune and arrested the accused. He was brought back to Afzalpur late at night, while the rescued minor was admitted to the Kalaburagi Government Hospital for a medical examination.

Police said the accused managed to escape from custody in the early hours after allegedly taking advantage of the negligence of police personnel. He reportedly removed his handcuffs, reached the edge of the second floor of the police station, grabbed a branch of a nearby neem tree, climbed down and fled into the darkness.

The entire escape was captured on CCTV cameras installed at the police station. Investigators have secured the footage and are examining how the accused managed to free himself from the handcuffs and escape from the lock-up, which is normally kept secured.

Following the incident, police have constituted a special team to trace the absconding accused. Search operations have been launched in Karnataka as well as the neighbouring states of Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.

The CCTV footage of the daring escape has intensified scrutiny of the security arrangements at the police station, and an investigation is underway to determine the circumstances that enabled the accused to flee from custody. Senior officials have admitted it was a serious security lapse, and action will be initiated against the cops found guilty.

–IANS

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