Driver injured in bid to flee cop custody

TT, Gangtok, April 30: A cab driver, who was arrested yesterday for abandoning 10 tourists in North Sikkim, suffered injuries when he jumped from the third floor of a building at Mangan Bazaar in an attempt to flee from police custody.

Samdup Dorjee Lachungpa, 37, has sustained multiple injuries in the head and chest and is on ventilator at the Central Referral Hospital in Gangtok.

“Lachen police had arrested Lachungpa yesterday after a group of tourists from Mumbai lodged a complaint. He had abandoned the tourists at Thhangu while returning from Gurudongmar Lake after an argument. The tourists suspected that he was in an intoxicated state and not in a condition to drive,” said deputy inspector general of police Mandeep Tuli.

The group had hired Lachungpa from Gangtok for a trip to North Sikkim and back on Monday. The tourists halted at a hotel in Thhangu after the tour. Yesterday, while coming down to Gangtok, the group alleged the driver was intoxicated. An argument followed and Lachungpa left the spot with his vehicle. The tourists hired another car from Thhangu and on the way to Gangtok, they lodged a police complaint at Lachen, 20km away.

Yesterday, Lachungpa was arrested and sent for a medical test. After the examination, police personnel and Lachungpa halted at a hotel in Mangan Bazaar for dinner. While the policemen were eating, Lachungpa ran and jumped from a window on the third floor of the building.

He landed on the concrete road below and was rushed to the hospital.

“His condition is reported to be serious but stable,” said a senior police officer in Gangtok.

Tuli said: “A criminal case under Section 224 of the IPC (escape from custody) has been registered at Mangan police station. Departmental action is being initiated against the policemen who were on duty when the accused was sent for the medical examination.”