A woman bootlegger, arrested on charges of supplying liquor to Patna Medical College and Hospital fled from police custody late on Sunday night, highlighting the laxity of the men and women in uniform /
The two women constables assigned the duty of guarding Rekha Devi have been suspended /
Police sources said Rekha Devi (35) fled on the pretext of going to the washroom at Gandhi Maidan police station considered the Model police station located in the heart of Patna /
She and her husband Mallu Prasad who run a litti chokha stall near Kargil Chowk were arrested on charges of supplying liquor to customers /The police tracked down the couple acting on the tip-off provided by arrested liquor supplier Ravi Keshari / Keshari used to smuggle liquor from Ranchi by bus and store the stock in Rekha s stall located barely a few metres away from the state bus stand located at Kargil Chowk /From there Rekha used to supply liquor to people including a few at PMCH /
On Sunday police nabbed Keshari who divulged details about the involvement of Rekha and M llu / Gandhi Maidan police picked up the two on Sunday evening and kept them in the police lock-up at the police station /
An officer at Gandhi Maidan police station, preferring anonymity, said /Rekha Devi was kept in the lock up here as she was yet to be produced before the court for judicial remand / Around 2.30am Rekha requested women constables Sunita Devi and Kanti Devi to take her to the washroom / The duo heeded her request ? Once Rekha entered the washroom the two constables stood at a short distance away from the door of the washroom and started chatting. Rekha took advantage of the situation and slipped out of the police station unnoticed /
As the lock-ups inside the police stations in Patna do not have attached washrooms, people arrested by police on different charges are lodged in police lock-ups before they are forwarded to judicial custody by the court /
Another police officer, on condition of anonymity, said: "The escape of the woman bootlegger, who is not a hardcore criminal is a serious security lapse as generally the security arrangements in police stations are tightened at night /
The officer added that the incident occurred at Gandhi Maidan police station, which has boundary walls and also gates, but neither cops on duty nor anybody else noticed Rekha slipping away /
Patna senior superintendent of police Manu Maharaaj said: "Two women constables have been suspended for dereliction of duty in the case /
Sources said on earlier occasions too police personnel, including station house officers SHO have been suspended for failing to check the supply of liquor in areas under the jurisdiction of their respective police stations/
Last week Jakkanpur police station SHO Amrendra Jha was suspended and the remaining personnel, right from havildar to assistant sub-inspector rank were forwarded to the Police Lines after liquor was seized from a hospital in Jakkanpur /.............
As a part of Operation Sura police are carrying out an anti-liquor drive since May 11. In this connection police arrested 50 people and seized 4,827 bottles of Indian-made foreign liquor and 62 litres of country-made liquor in the past 24 hours /.............
Police sources said more than 840 people had been arrested from different police station areas on charges of supplying liquor and drinking alcohol..........................