A Notorious dacoit was shot dead in the Dahod sub-jail when he was trying to flee in the early hours of Tuesday. The deceased, Subhash Sangodia, and four others had managed to escape from their cells into a balcony when they were noticed by a sentry.

According to the police, the jail guards warned them, but when the inmates refused to listen, they fired on them, killing Sangodia on the spot. All the five were members of the same gang, which had robbed a jewellery store at Halol in October last year.

The Dahod police said the jailbreak was attempted around 3 am. Sub-Inspector R G Patel said: "Sangodia was lodged in room number 1 and managed to break a grille that led to his gang members in the adjoining room through the toilet. The five then sneaked out of a balcony door and managed to break the grille there as well."

He added that an armed sentry patrolling near the jail wall noticed them and immediately raised an alarm. "By this time, they had reached another exit and began hammering the lock. They continued even as the guards ordered them to stop and surrender," said Patel, adding that one of the guards fired one round, which hit Sangodia in the chest. The four others immediately surrendered.

Meanwhile, an inquiry by the Dahod Sub-Divisional Magistrate has been ordered into the matter.

Sangodia, a native of Madhya Pradesh, was arrested in November last year in Dahod. He was accused in several cases of armed robbery and attempt to murder, including firing at the police.

Incidentally, this was the gang's third such attempt since their arrest. Three days ago, another member of the same gang, lodged in the Godhra sub-jail, gave his police escort the slip in Dahod town and escaped. In March, 10 members of the same gang, who were lodged in the Sabarmati jail, escaped from near Bhadarva in Vadodara district while in transit.

Three jailbreak attempts in seven months
The gang of dacoits responsible for the Halol jewellery store heist in October last year, and many others in Panchmahals, Dahod, Vadodara and Ahmedabad districts, have made three attempts to escape since their arrest in November 2007.

While the first two attempts were successful, the third attempt proved fatal for ringleader Subhash Sangodia, who was shot in the chest and died. Incidentally, of the gang of around 23 arrested, 12 have managed to escape.

On March 27 this year, 11 of the 12 gang members en route to the Sabarmati Jail after a court hearing at Halol in Panchmahals district, assaulted their police escort with their handcuffs and escaped near Vasad on the Ahmedabad-Vadodara expressway. One of them was nabbed in April from Saurashtra.