Prisoner nabbed after a year of escape from Kovai hospital

COIMBATORE: A 50-year- old prisoner, who escaped while under treatment for COVID-19 at Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH), was arrested after a year in Salem.

Police said Gajendran from Pallapatti in Salem had set fire to tyres in front of three prominent temples in the city, triggering communal tension. Police in Big Bazaar station, Ukkadam and Race Course police registered cases and multiple teams were formed to nab the culprit.

Police identified Gajendran with images captured in a CCTV on NH Road. After a search, the police nabbed him on the next day of the incident from his home town and he was lodged in Coimbatore Central Prison. As he was diagnosed with COVID-19, while in prison last year, Gajendran was admitted in the prisoners ward in CMCH for treatment. On the night of January 28, he went missing. On information that Gajendran was in Salem, police picked and produced him in a court to be remanded in judicial custody.