June 05, 2008	Thursday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 30, 1429

ISLAMABAD, June 4: A handcuffed undertrial prisoner, who was brought to the district and session courts for proceedings in an attempted murder case, escaped from police custody in mysterious circumstances, officials said on Wednesday.

Following the unexplainable disappearance, three of the seven police officials guarding him also disappeared, the officials speaking on condition of anonymity said. The four police guards present at the courts were taken into custody.

This was the third incident of a handcuffed undertrial prisoner or suspect escaping from police custody in the last three weeks.

Earlier, a suspected auto thief slipped away from the Federal Government Services Hospital on May 14, followed by the escape of a handcuffed undertrial prisoner from the lower courts on May 20.

In the fresh incident, the officials of city police brought the undertrial prisoner, arrested by Koral police on the charge of attempted murder, along with 127 other UTPs from Adiala Jail.

The UTP was to appear before the civil judge, the police said, adding that it was not clear that whether he was produced in the court or he escaped before that.

The incident came to light when police officials, guarding the UTPs, started counting the accused to board them in prison vans to shift them back to Adiala Jail.