An under trial lodged at Goa’s central jail accused of raping a 42-year-old British woman has gone missing, leading to speculation that he has escaped even as jail officials are scratching their heads over his disappearance without leaving a trace.
Ramchandran Yellappa, was arrested for allegedly raping the British national at Canacona in South Goa in 2018 and is currently on trial in the case.
Jail authorities said that an examination of CCTV footage showed that Yellappa didn’t exit through the main gate, which is the only way in and out of the complex either through jumping over it or going right through it for an ‘errand’ that are sometimes given to prisoners lodged as part of their daily chores.
Instead, it is being considered that he could be hiding within the complex or could have somehow scaled the high walls that surround the jail complex.
“We are on the lookout for him, the search is on. He hasn’t left through the main gate, so we believe that he could be within the complex itself,” an official at the jail, said.
If true, this would not be the first time when Yellappa has escaped from custody while under trial. In June last year, while being produced before a court, he removed the glass panels covering the ventilator in the toilet inside the court complex and escaped. He was later arrested.
In December 2018, a 42-year old British woman was allegedly raped and robbed on her way back from the railway station at Goa’s southernmost tehsil of Canacona. The Goa police managed to arrest the attacker identified as Yellappa the same day.
The woman’s complaint revealed she was waylaid and attacked by a man she could not identify, who raped her and then stole her belongings, robbing her of Rs 20,000.
