Murder accused escapes from Navi Mumbai jail by scaling, jumping off 25-ft wall

Mumbai: On Sunday morning, a 27-year-old murder suspect lodged in Taloja Jail as an undertrial allegedly escaped by scaling and leaping off the 25-ft-high perimeter wall of the jail. A second prisoner also tried to escape in the same manner, but was caught by jail staff.

The Kharghar police have registered an FIR against both prisoners, and are on the lookout for the escapee. Jail authorities have tightened security inside and around the jail.

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

As per 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. They then approached the watchtower of the jail adjacent to the boundary wall. The watchtower has a seven-foot tall grill gate. The guard had gone for a break at that time. According to the official, Yadav first climbed the watchtower’s gate, scaled its wall, and then climbed the perimeter wall. Yadav jumped outside after scaling the 25-foot wall. Keni too followed Yadav and scaled the wall, but he could not jump as he got scared of the height, said the officials.

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Keni was caught by prison guards at the spot. Yadav, however, managed to escape. Kharghar police were informed and security was tightened around the jail.

The police and jail staff conducted an intense search in the jungle and nearby areas. As a result of registering an FIR, the police are searching for Yadav and have notified all nearby police stations of his whereabouts. Police also visited Bhandup, where the accused lived 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.