He had been at the Cherlapally prison for the last one-and-half years. According to prison authorities, Venkateswar Rao is an accused in at least 10 more robbery and dacoity cases and he was taken to a court in Nirmal in Adilabad district to appear in a dacoity case there on Monday morning.
After the appearance, the escort team started off from Nirmal with Venkateswar Rao and reached the city at about 10.30 pm.
Based on the advice of prison officials, Venkateswar Rao, who had earlier escaped from police custody, was taken in a jeep under the supervision of three escort constables.
However, on entering the city limits, two of the escort constables got down at different places to go home and left the escort job to their lone colleague Gopal. "After the vehicle entered Rail Vihar Colony in Cherlapally, it slowed down near a speed-breaker near Sphoorthi Foundation. Taking advantage of the situation, Venkateswar Rao jumped off the jeep and fled," Kushaiguda inspector V Srikanth Goud said.
He said the escort constable Gopal was not armed. "Even though one of the hands of the accused was cuffed, the other end was left loose, which helped him make his escape good," a police officer said.
Based on the complaint lodged by Gopal, a case was booked against Venkateswar Rao under section 224 (Resistance or obstruction by a person to his lawful apprehension) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). A man-hunt has been launched to nab him.
