Bhubaneswar, February 14 Odisha Police on Saturday arrested one of the two prisoners who escaped from Choudwar Circle Jail in Cuttack during last year’s Durga Puja celebrations.
The absconding prisoners, Madhukanta Kumar and Raja Sahani, both from Bihar, had escaped the high-security jail on the night of October 2-3.
Kumar was arrested from a guest house at an ashram in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, a senior police official said.
"A special team from the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commissionerate arrested Kumar from the guest house of an ashram in Virndavan in Uttar Pradesh after sustained efforts," police commissioner S Dev Datta Singh told reporters.
Kumar, a resident of Begusarai district, was arrested in a dacoity and murder case and was lodged in Choudwar jail.
Separate police teams were formed to track the absconding prisoners across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Nagaland, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh.
Kumar had been staying in Vrindavan under the alias Basu Pande. He was produced in a UP court before being brought to Odisha on transit remand, Singh said.
Odisha Police had announced a cash reward of Rs 50,000 for anyone providing credible information on the two prisoners.
Singh assured that police would soon apprehend the other absconding prisoner.