Coimbatore police nab murder accused who escaped from hospital

COIMBATORE: A 30-year-old murder accused, who escaped from Coimbatore Medical College Hospital’s psychiatric ward two days ago, was nabbed by the city police on Wednesday.
Three special teams had been formed to trace the accused, N Hem Sagar Naik, 30, of Odisha. “We searched for him at all the places he previously worked and visited casually to meet his friends. Based on a tip-off, we arrested him in an area where he worked earlier.”
“He travelled in an auto to his hideout after posing as a customer.He borrowed money from his brother in Odisha by asking his brother to transfer the money to an auto driver’s Google Pay account. He also changed his dress and hair style,” the official said.
Naik worked in a garment company near Palladam in Tirupur district. He stayed with Kamaldhar Sahu, 30, of Odisha in company quarters.
Naik had been missing since April 10 and his roommate Kamaldhar Sahu’s whereabouts was not known.
On April 12, police found a decomposed dead body at Konakkadu Thottam near Kavundampalayam in Palladam.
Investigations revealed that Naik had spoken to a woman over the phone. Kamaldhar Sahu also got the mobile number of the woman and started talking to her. The duo often fought over this.
One day, Naik murdered Kamaldhar and dumped the body. Stray dogs fed on the body and the remains were recovered by police. Samples were collected from the dead body and sent to the forensic science laboratory in Chennai for DNA analysis.
The Palladam police arrested Naik on the night of April 12 and he was remanded in judicial custody the following day. He was lodged in Coimbatore Central Prison.
Naik developed psychiatric problems and the prison department officials admitted him to CMCH for treatment on August 3.
He managed to escape from the psychiatric ward in the early hours of Sunday (August 9). Ward doctors alerted the Race Course police, who launched a search and traced him near Avinashi road flyover.
Again, he was remanded in judicial custody and the prison authorities advised police to admit him to the psychiatric ward of CMCH
He was admitted to hospital on Sunday evening. Naik managed to escape from the ward on Monday morning.
He was booked under Section 224 (resistance or obstruction by a person to his lawful apprehension) of the Indian Penal Code.