Two cops suspended after rape accused flees from custody

The Goa Police on Saturday ordered the suspension of two police constables who were escorting Ramchandra Yellappa, an undertrial who is facing trial for the rape of a British national last year, when he escaped from their custody on Friday.

Ramdas Gawas, a police constable attached to the Valpoi police station in North Goa and Rama Patel who was posted with the India Reserve Battalion, were suspended pending an enquiry, a police spokesperson said on Saturday.

Yellappa, 30, who hails from Tamil Nadu, was being escorted to a trial court for a hearing on Friday, when he escaped from the toilet of the court complex, forcing the police to launch a manhunt to trace him. Yellappa is still at large. 

The accused is facing trial for raping and robbing a 48-year-old British woman near the Canacona railway station in South Goa district in the early hours of December 20. 

The crime which was committed near a public road had created a furore in Goa, with questions being asked of the state government, vis-a-vis the issue of safety of women in the coastal state, especially women tourists. IANS