Ahmedabad: Murder convict slips out of Sabarmati jail, manhunt on

Ahmedabad: A life convict serving sentences in separate murder and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) cases escaped from Sabarmati Central Jail in the city on Monday after allegedly evading security personnel and walking out through the main gate, police said.

The escape came to light during a routine headcount conducted at the jail’s Bada Chakkar Yard No. 4, where prison officials found one inmate missing from the barrack. A complaint in the matter was later filed with Ranip Police by jailer Devdattsinh R Gohil.

According to the FIR, the absconding convict was identified as Malde Ramabhai Parmar, 30, a native of Bagvadar village on Modhvada Road in Porbandar district. Parmar was convicted in separate offences involving murder and Pocso charges registered with Kamlabaug police station in Porbandar in 2023. A court had sentenced him to life imprisonment on May 9, 2025, under IPC Sections 302 and 504 along with Sections 11 and 12 of the Pocso Act.

After his conviction, Parmar was shifted from Porbandar Special Jail to Rajkot Central Jail to serve his sentence. Later, due to health-related issues, the jail and correctional administration department ordered his transfer to Ahmedabad Central Jail in Nov 2025 for treatment.

Police said Parmar was lodged in the “after” section of Bada Chakkar Yard No. 4 along with 32 other convicts. During the noon roll call on Monday, prison authorities discovered that only 32 prisoners were present instead of 33.

The FIR stated that jail staff and the general subedar immediately launched a search inside the prison premises after Parmar could not be traced in his barrack or yard. However, despite extensive checks, he remained untraceable.

Subsequent scrutiny of CCTV footage revealed that the convict had exited the yard in the morning and slipped past personnel stationed at the main gate at around 10.10am before walking out of the prison premises unnoticed.

Senior jail officials were informed immediately after the footage was reviewed. Jail superintendent Gaurav Agrawal said Parmar was imprisoned in two separate cases involving murder and Pocso offences and continues to remain absconding.

The city crime branch has been tasked with tracing the fugitive convict. Police are also probing whether the prisoner received assistance from inside or outside the jail and if there was any negligence on the part of prison staff deployed at the main gate.