Surat: A 29-year-old man arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act escaped from Utran police custody in the early hours of Sunday after complaining of constipation. The accused, Ketan Patel alias Vakil, allegedly removed the glass pane from a toilet ventilator and fled while police personnel were waiting outside. He was tracked down and arrested within a few hours.After his escape, Patel allegedly stole a moped to facilitate his getaway. Utran police registered two additional FIRs against him for escaping from lawful custody, damaging public property and vehicle theft.Patel was arrested by Utran police on July 31 in connection with an mephedrone case. After being produced before a court, he was remanded in police custody.According to police, Patel was undergoing treatment for constipation. His wife had handed over medication to the police on Saturday night with a request that it be given to him if required. Throughout Saturday night and into Sunday morning, he complained repeatedly of constipation. Police initially asked him to use the toilet inside the lock-up, but he insisted that it was not in usable condition. He was then taken to a toilet outside the lock-up around 4.30am and again at 4.45am.Around 5.15am, Patel complained of severe stomach pain and uneasiness and requested the constipation medication provided by his wife. After he was given the pill, he again sought permission to use the outside toilet. While cops stood guard outside, he allegedly turned on the tap to create noise, broke the glass pane of the toilet’s ventilator and escaped through the opening.Utran police inspector H R Goswami said multiple teams were formed to trace the accused.“We dispatched teams to possible hideouts and kept watch on his relatives. Another team analysed CCTV footage. Using human intelligence and technical surveillance, we arrested him in the Kadodara area within a few hours. Patel has now been arrested again in the NDPS case. He is an advocate by profession and had practised law in the past,” Goswami said.Stole moped after escapeAfter escaping from custody, Patel allegedly reached Oxygen Park. Santosh Katariya, a coconut water vendor, had parked a friend’s moped near his cart. While Katariya was attending to customers, Patel allegedly stole the vehicle and fled.When Katariya later visited the police station to lodge a theft complaint, he learnt that an NDPS accused had escaped from police custody. Police showed him Patel’s photograph, after which he identified him as the person who had stolen the moped.Based on his complaint, police registered another FIR against Patel for theft. He has also been booked for escaping from police custody and damaging public property.
