Balasore: Exposing loopholes in security arrangements, a rape accused gave the police a slip while being produced in a court Friday.
As per reports, accused Sk Istekhar from Gopinathpur area under Singla police limits in the district was accused of raping a woman belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC) community. A complaint was lodged at Kasafala police station April 9, 2025, following which a case was registered and Istekhar was arrested.
Subsequently, he was forwarded to SC/ST court, which sent him to judicial custody after rejection of his bail plea. While he was lodged at Balasore jail as an undertrial prisoner (UTP), Istekhar was directed to appear in the court during every hearing.
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The accused was at Balasore SC/ST court Friday for such a hearing when he managed to flee, taking advantage of not being cuffed by the police. An eight-member team has been formed to trace the absconding accused.
