Panic gripped the Kurla Police Station after a Bangladeshi woman, who was undergoing deportation proceedings, escaped from police custody in the early hours of Wednesday. The woman allegedly tricked on-duty police personnel by asking to use the bathroom and fled the premises with her husband.
According to police sources, a total of eight Bangladeshi nationals — including five women and three children who were residing illegally in India — had been kept in a vacant police quarters located within the Kurla Police Colony. Two Women constables, Manda Yashwant Jagtap and Gauri Sonawane, were assigned duty from 8 pm on April 15 to 8 am on April 16 to monitor them.
The incident took place at around 4:10 am on April 16, when one of the detainees, identified as Mirjan Begum alias Nasreen Ismail Shaikh (36), requested permission to use the bathroom and stepped out of the room. When she failed to return after a while, the police personnel grew suspicious. A search of the premises revealed that she was missing, following which senior officers were immediately informed.
Given the seriousness of the incident, police examined CCTV footage, which showed the woman leaving the police compound at around 4:17 am. Further footage revealed her walking near Bhabha Hospital along with her husband, identified as Manish Baldev Rajbhar alias Ismail Shaikh. This indicated that the escape was pre-planned.
Police officials said that the woman was in the process of being deported to Bangladesh and had orchestrated the escape to evade the action. Kurla Police have registered a case against the woman and her husband under charges of obstructing government duty, escaping from custody, and aiding in the escape.
Special teams have been formed to trace the accused, and a search operation is underway across various parts of the city. The incident has exposed a major security lapse during night duty, and a departmental inquiry is also likely to be initiated.