TURA: One of the Garo Hills’ most wanted criminals, William A Sangma, who escaped from prison twice in the past, once again managed to break free after overpowering the armed police guard at Tura Civil Hospital early on Friday morning.
Two inquiries, a magisterial and another by police, have been ordered into the escape of the hardened criminal who once spread fear in East, North and West Garo Hills districts by kidnapping travellers from desolate areas.
William and two other under-trial prisoners (UTPs) from the Tura district jail were admitted to the hospital on Thursday evening after they complained of illness. All the three were inside the barricaded prisoner ward with armed guards outside.
At 7 am on Friday, when the cell door was opened to allow the duty nurse inside to administer medication, the criminals made their move.
“The nurse had given injection to one of the admitted prisoners and was
preparing to treat the next one when William and another UTP Rongseng M Sangma attacked,” said West Garo Hills SP MGR Kumar.
Both William and Rongseng attacked the lone armed guard and tried to snatch his weapon leading to a scuffle. The second guard on duty had reportedly gone to the toilet.
Unable to snatch the weapon William made a dash for freedom while Rongseng was overpowered and held.
A massive manhunt has been launched to arrest the criminal.
“Preliminary enquiry reveals that both William and Rongseng had planned the escape,” said the district police chief, adding that the wanted criminal was last seen fleeing towards Rongka Chiring below the civil hospital.
William had formed a criminal gang, the A’chik National Cooperative army (ANCA), and began a series of abductions of businessmen and traders. He had created havoc along the Tura-Kherapara-Dalu and the Damra-Manikganj-Mendipathar roads.
He even managed to procure a powerful American made assault rifle, at a later stage of his criminal career, which was later seized by police.
During a kidnapping attempt on the Kherapara-Dalu road, he had shot at an unarmed off-duty policeman who was travelling on a motorbike with a friend. The policeman had bravely fought off the kidnap attempt and despite the bullet injury managed to break free and alert passing commuters.
William later fled to Assam from where he orchestrated a string of kidnappings before being arrested. While inside the police lock-up in Mendipathar, William escaped by overpowering the guard on duty.
He was found several months later working in a readymade garments factory in Tirupur district of Tamil Nadu in 2014. Both William and his accomplice, Alas R Sangma, who stands accused of killing his six-year-old son, were deported to Meghalaya.
William later jumped bail and began his nefarious activities once again along the Assam-Garo Hills border belt in North Garo Hills region before being arrested by Assam police in Goalpara last year. He was cooling his heels since then inside the Tura jail before he escaped again on Friday.
