In Bihar, criminal escapes police custody by jumping into river

In a bizarre incident in Bihar’s Bhagalpur district, a criminal detained ​under the Arms Act escaped police custody by jumping into a river. The incident took place on Saturday (September 26, 2026) afternoon in the Jagdishpur Police Station area.According to police, they got a tip-off from an informer that a criminal against whom many other cases were lodged was seen near Saidpur Ghat at the bank of the Chandan River carrying a country-made musket and cartridges.A police team rushed to the spot to apprehend the criminal identified as Santosh Yadav, a resident of Motidah village. Police reached the spot in time and took him into custody.The police team, comprising four constables, were escorting him to the jeep, however they had to cross a bamboo bridge of nearly 50 meters. While walking, two constables lifted the sticks to maintain balance on the bridge.However, when they reached near the bridge, all stopped for a few seconds, and some argument took place; then they started moving ahead again. As soon as they all reached the middle of the bridge, the criminal pulled one constable along with him and jumped into the river.For a few minutes, both the constable and criminal began to drift rapidly with the river’s current, as most of the rivers in Bihar are in spate due to incessant rain.Somehow, the constable managed to swim to the other side of the bank and saved his life, while the criminal, Santosh Yadav, was not found and remained missing. Bhagalpur Police expressed apprehension that after jumping in the river, the criminal must have reached the opposite bank and fled from there.Station House Officer Ramchandra Singh said that there has been no trace of the criminal since he jumped into the river. Police teams are conducting raids at all his possible hideouts.The family member of the criminal said that he may have drowned in the river. One family member said that he was a tractor driver and used to support the family financially.Later, police called a team of divers and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) to search for the criminal, but he remained untraceable till filing of this report. Published - September 27, 2026 07:05 am IST