CHERUTHURUTHI: The leader of a Bangladeshi criminal gang who escaped from custody while being transported from Kannur central jail to Kakkanad jail was arrested after a 20-hour manhunt. Manik Master (35), a native of Indurkani in Barisal district of Bangladesh, had managed to get away by running out of the Ernad Express train near the Bharathappuzha bridge on Tuesday. He was on his way to the new prison, handcuffed, and accompanied by 3 policemen when he gave them the slip.

Manik was caught near Shoranur while hiding in the shrubs near the railway track. Upon realizing that he was spotted, Manik ran for about 1.5 kilometers before the cops overpowered and arrested him. Even while he was being arrested, he tried to lash out at them using handcuffs. He was captured by a team led by Grade Sub Inspectors, Saihu Muhammed, and A Ajith Kumar.

Earlier, the police were worried that the convict might escape by boarding a slow-moving train which would make his recapture difficult. Search operations were strengthened in railway stations to ward off such an eventuality.

On Wednesday morning, the police received a call from a housewife at 10.30. She had spotted a suspicious-looking guy with a banyan tied around his hand walking on the railway tracks. The police started searching the vicinity after concluding that Manik must have covered his hand with the cloth to conceal the handcuff which he could not break. He was found hiding in the shrubs.

Among other crimes, he was behind the attack on a journalist and family on September 6, 2018. Armed men wearing face masks broke open and entered the house of Mathrubhoomi Kannur unit news editor Vinod Chandran (53) and his wife Saritha (50). After tying them up and grievously injuring them, the gang got away with cash and 60 sovereigns of gold. The investigating team led by DySP PP Sadanandan had identified early on that the gang from Bangladesh border was behind the case. The special police team investigating the case had followed his trail all the way to Delhi to nab him. Manik is believed to be one of the kingpins of the “Bangla gang,” the infamous Delhi-based robbery syndicate.