Thrissur: A dreaded bandit leader, who jumped off a moving train while being transferred from Kannur jail to a prison in Ernakulam, was nabbed after hours-long search from the Shoranur railway station premises.

The timely intervention by a woman helped police nab Manik, 35, the head of criminal gang, Bangla. The criminals were notorious for attacking the family members before stealing their precious belongings from the house.

The Bangla gang had tied up journalist Vinod Chandran and wife, and brutally assaulted them in Kannur. Bangladesh native Manik was arrested in the case and was remanded in Kannur jail. While at the prison, he had assaulted and injured a co-prisoner. Manik too was injured in the incident, and the authorities decided to move him to the Ernakulam jail.

Manik was sent from Kannur to Kochi along with three cops in a train.

What happened in the train…

The train slowed down as it was crossing the Bharatapuzha. A handcuffed Manik then immediately jumped off the train. By the time, the cops got off the train and started searching for him, Manik had vanished. The cops were hoping that someone would notice the handcuffs on Manik and inform the police. Manik escaped by 4pm. The cops conducted searches all through the night, but could not track him down.

Suspicious

Suhra, a native of Mambaram, noticed a person walking along the railway track. He was wearing Bermuda shorts and his hands were covered by a vest. Suhra, who got suspicious, immediately alerted the Railway Police, who along with the local police conducted searches in the area. But could not find him. The cops then decided to look for Manik at some abandoned buildings in the railway station area.

As the search was progressing, the cops noticed a man running out of a building. The cops too took off behind him. The cops ran for almost 1.5km to catch up with Manik, who then tried to attack the police. But one of the cops, came up from behind, and pushed Manik to the ground, overpowering him.

The alert Suhara, who promptly shared her suspicions with the cops, and the police, who swung into action on getting the information, helped the police to nab the dreaded criminal in less than 24 hours after he escaped.