Guwahati’s smart police were caught napping yet again as an arrested thief, one of the main accused in the sensational Ugratara temple theft, fled from police custody while he was being taken to his rent house in Juripar locality of Guwahati for a search operation.
A team of policemen from Dispur Police Station had taken Azizul Ali, arrested in connection with the Ugratara temple theft on June 19, to his rent house at Juripar when he managed to push the guard and flee. The incident took place around 11am. Eyewitnesses said they saw the thief, who had not been handcuffed at that time to allow him complete some official formalities, push a policeman and flee.
“The thief was brought to the house where he stayed as a tenant for some investigation, probably a search. But he pushed a cop who was reportedly under the influence of alcohol or some psychotropic substance and fled,” a resident of Juripar said.
He further said the local people and not police were able to nab the theft who was hiding in the adjacent building.
“The police launched a search after the thief fled but they could not nab him. But when we — me and some other youths of the area — searched the adjacent building, we found him there,” he added, claiming that they nabbed Azizul almost three hours after he had pipped the cops.
He was then handed over to police.
Dispur Police, on the other hand, tried to take credit and claimed they were the ones who managed to get hold of the thief after he fled from their custody.
