Murder accused flees from Taloja Jail by scaling, jumping off 25-ft-high wall

A 27-year-old murder accused lodged in Taloja Jail as an undertrial allegedly escaped by scaling and jumping off the 25-ft-high perimeter wall of the jail on Sunday morning.

Another prisoner too attempted to escape in the same manner but was caught by jail staffers, according to police.

The Kharghar police have registered an FIR against both the prisoners, and are on the lookout for the prisoner who got away. Security inside and around the jail has been tightened, jail authorities said.

The escaped prisoner has been identified as Sanjay Mahendra Yadav, arrested by the Bhandup police in 2018 for allegedly killing a 17-year-old collegian. Yadav was booked and arrested for the murder and was lodged in Taloja jail since then.

According to the sources, sometime after midnight on September 18, Yadav went to the jail hospital along with another inmate Savio Pasco Leni on the pretext of getting medicines.

The duo then approached the watchtower of the jail adjacent to the boundary wall. The watchtower has a 7 ft high grill gate. At that time, the



guard had gone for a break. The official said that Yadav first climbed the gate of the watchtower, scaled its wall, and from there accessed the perimeter wall. After managing to scale the 25-feet wall, Yadav jumped outside.

Keni too followed Yadav and managed to scale the wall. Officials said he could not jump as he got scared of the height.

Prison guards arrived at the spot and caught Keni. But Yadav managed to escape.

The Kharghar police were informed and security was heightened in and around the jail premises.

Police and jail staffers carried out an intense search in the jungle and nearby areas. After registering an FIR, the police are searching for Yadav and have informed all nearby police stations about the accused.

The police also visited Bhandup, where the accused was living before his arrest, but he was not found.

“An FIR under section 224 (Resistance or obstruction by a person to his lawful apprehension) and 511 of the IPC has been registered against Yadav and Jaiswal by the Kharghar police,” said an official.