A youth said to be mentallly unstable reportedly escaped from a hospital in Andhra Pradesh during treatment, landed in an Odisha jail and underwent six months of imprisonment before being released on bail.
S. Paiti Raju, 27, would have been in jail for a few more years, had Superintendent of Balangir circle jail not noticed his abnormal behaviour and taken steps for his expeditious release.
On January 5, 2022, Balangir police spotted Mr. Raju sleeping inside an ATM kiosk and picked him up. During that period, the district police were facing a spate of theft cases. The youth did not know any language other than Telugu. The local police allegedly made no efforts to arrange a translator to verify details about him.
