Bhubaneswar: Two days after the arrest of the second fugitive, Raja Sahani, in the Choudwar jailbreak case from a hotel in Rishikesh, Twin City Commissioner of Police S Dev Datta Singh on Friday said the breakthrough was the result of a prolonged and meticulous operation.
Addressing a press conference, Singh revealed that a massive manhunt was launched immediately after the daring jailbreak on the night of October 2 last year. Police teams were dispatched across multiple states, including the North-Eastern states, Bihar, Delhi, and Karnataka. “They gathered crucial evidence through ground intelligence, digital footprints from CCTV footage at the jail, human intelligence, and by analysing the criminal antecedents of the accused — who had 28 cases pending against him — before finally tracking him down to Rishikesh in Uttarakhand,” Singh said.
The Commissioner further stated that Sahani had formed an organised gang and was involved in a robbery at a jewellery showroom in Mysuru, Karnataka, in December last year. “The same gang had also attempted a dacoity near Visakhapatnam,” he added.
Sahani alias Subham, and his accomplice Madhukant Rana alias Singh had escaped from the high-security Choudwar Circle Jail by scaling the walls using a makeshift rope. The duo exploited a lapse in supervision during the Dussehra festivities. The two were arrested on January 4, 2025, for allegedly robbing a jewellery shop in Panikoili, Jajpur district, and killing two people during the heist. Facing serious charges, they were later shifted from Ragadi sub-jail to Choudwar for enhanced security.
On February 13, Rana was arrested from an ashram guesthouse in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, where he had been working. His interrogation revealed that the duo had immediately boarded a train to Puri after the escape, where they hid near a public toilet before proceeding to Bihar the next day. To evade capture, the criminals frequently changed their locations, identities, and occupations while deliberately avoiding electronic surveillance and commonly anticipated hideouts.
