Kochi: In a jailbreak twist that sounds almost too bizarre to be true, a 28-year-old remand prisoner who escaped from Aluva Sub-Jail in Kochi made his way to the Perumbavoor Police Station, not to surrender, but to retrieve his Aadhaar card.
Madhurjya Sonowal, a native of Dhemaji in Assam, apparently believed the identity document was still with the Perumbavoor police from the time of his initial detention. His apparent plan was simple: walk into the station, collect the Aadhaar card and disappear, possibly to another state, where he could find work and start afresh. And his gamble almost worked.
Sonowal had been arrested in connection with a mobile phone theft case registered at Edathala Police Station after he was accused of stealing the smartphones of workers at a plywood factory in Edathala industrial area. He was initially intercepted by Perumbavoor police on suspicion and was later handed over to the Edathala police on August 23. After being produced before a court, he was remanded to judicial custody at Aluva Sub-Jail.
According to police sources, Sonowal escaped from the sub-jail on Monday evening during the inmates’ routine recreation and bathing break.
At around 4 pm, prisoners were allowed out of their cells into the prison yard. Taking advantage of a security lapse, Sonowal reportedly scaled the prison boundary wall at the kitchen side and slipped away. Jail authorities realised he was missing only when inmates were being counted before being locked back in, and immediately alerted the police.
But instead of simply disappearing, Sonowal apparently decided to take one more chance with the very police who had previously detained him. He walked into the Perumbavoor Police Station and approached the sentry desk, asking for his Aadhaar card.
His calculation seems to have been that the officers on duty might not recognise him, since the personnel who had dealt with him during his earlier detention had since changed shifts.
“He was arrested on Sunday in a crime under the Edathala Police Station. The police detained him out of suspicion while he was trying to sell the phones he stole at a shop in our jurisdiction. Perumbavoor police took him into custody, and the Edathala Police took him away shortly after,” a senior police officer in Perumbavoor said.
“It was for a very limited time that he was held here initially. The personnel on duty had rotated out after standard day-and-night shifts. When he approached the sentry desk asking for his card, that officer could not immediately identify him,” the officer added.
However, Sonowal’s confidence proved misplaced. Another police officer at the station recognised him after seeing the lookout alert issued following his escape. The moment Sonowal realised that his identity had been established, he bolted out of the station.
Police officers immediately chased him through the busy Perumbavoor market and adjoining roads. But the fugitive once again managed to disappear into the crowd.
“Another officer at the station identified him. Upon realising that he was identified, he ran out. Even though our personnel pursued him immediately, he could not be caught. Police teams searched across the market area and surrounding locations, but he is still at large,” the officer said.
The police said that for migrant workers, Aadhaar is often an important document for securing employment. Sonowal’s attempt to get his identity card back may have been part of a larger plan to leave the state and find another job.
The police have launched a joint manhunt for him with the help of prison authorities across Ernakulam and neighbouring districts.
