Fugitive convict captured after weeks-long manhunt; lover arrested for alleged complicity

Kannur: Kerala Police have arrested a convict who escaped from the central jail here a month ago.

The convict, Harshad, was arrested from Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu after a weeks-long massive manhunt, police said here on Friday.

On managing to slip out of the jail, Harshad had fled the state on a bike that was kept waiting outside.

The police also arrested his lover Apsara who allegedly arranged a hideout for him, they said. Earlier, a person named Rizwan, who allegedly helped Harshad break out of the jail on January 14, was also arrested.

Harshad had been serving a jail term after being convicted in a case registered by Kannavam police in 2023 for smuggling the synthetic drug MDMA.

After escaping from prison, Harshad went to Delhi and then to the Nepal border. Later, he went to Tamil Nadu and managed to arrange a hideout in Sivaganga with the help of his girlfriend Apsara, according to the police.

Arshad had befriended Apsara in Thalassery where he had gone to learn tattooing. They fell in love and then started trafficking drugs together, the police said.

The jail superintendent had filed a complaint about the prison break with Kannur town police, and a report on the incident was submitted to the jail DGP