Madurai (Tamil Nadu) Nov 12 (PTI) A 25-year-old man, who was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment in a drug peddling case, escaped from the special court premises here on Thursday shortly after the verdict was pronounced, police said.
The convict, identified as Raja from the Thenmalai area of Sirumalai in Dindigul district, was arrested by the anti-narcotics police in 2024 for selling ganja.
The case was being heard at the I Additional Special Court for NDPS Act cases in Madurai. At the conclusion of the trial on Thursday, Judge Sudhakar held Raja guilty, sentencing him to a 10-year jail term and imposing a fine of Rs 1 lakh.
According to police, shortly after the quantum of sentence was announced, Raja, who was seated in the courtroom, managed to quietly give security personnel the slip.
Upon realising the convict was missing, police personnel on duty immediately alerted the authorities and launched a search operation.
A manhunt has been initiated and searches have been intensified across major transit hubs in the city, including the Mattuthavani, Anna, and Arappalayam bus terminuses, to apprehend the fugitive.
The sudden escape of a convicted prisoner shortly after sentencing caused a flutter at the district court complex. PTI JR SA
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