Three constables attached to the Pune police headquarters jumped from a moving Pune-bound train near Bijapur in Karnataka to chase a murder convict who attempted to escape from their custody on Thursday afternoon.

Four constables, Hanumant Masal, Vikas Phule, Shrinath Kamble and Kokane were escorting the murder convict, Siddharam Mangrule, to Pune from Bijapur when the incident occurred. The incident assumes significance in the light of the many escapes of convicts from Sassoon Hospital in recent times, the most glaring being that of Yogesh Raut, prime suspect in the Nayana Pujari rape-and-murder case.

According to the Pune police, the constables produced the convict before a Bijapur court on Thursday afternoon and then boarded a train from Bijapur to Pune to escort the convict back to Pune. According to police inspector, Motichand Rathod of Pune headquarters, Mangrule jumped off the moving train 15 minutes after it took off from Bijapur.

The three constables immediately jumped after Mangrule to catch him. Masal and Phule fractured their legs and Kamble, his hands.

The convict fractured his leg and was injured on his face. The constables are undergoing treatment at Hardikar Hospital in Shivajinagar. Kamble told DNA on Saturday, “When Mangrule jumped, we did not think of our lives. We also jumped after the convict to catch him.”

Cops jump from running train to nab fleeing murder convictKamble added, “After catching him, Masal and Phule pinned him down and I hitched a lift on a motorcycle to inform the Bijapur railway police. The police sent an ambulance and rushed us to the hospital.”

The fourth constable, Kokane called up the Pune police and informed them of the incident. Rathod said, “We sent a special team to Bijapur on Friday and brought the constables and the convict back to Pune. The constables are out of danger.” The top brass of the Pune police have announced rewards for the constables.