Law enforcers recaptured Rafsan Hossain alias Rubel, the prime accused in the rape case of a Garo girl, early yesterday two days after he escaped from police custody on court premises.    

He was arrested in the capital's Badda as he was about to board a bus to leave the city, said Mostaq Ahmed, deputy commissioner (DC) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.  

Rubel was first caught on Friday, 17 days after the indigenous girl had been raped in Badda.

He could sneak out of court premises around 3:30pm on Sunday as he hid the right hand with handcuffs in his pants' pocket, the DC said at a press briefing at his office in Gulshan.

Two police men, Sub-inspector Emran Ul Hasan and constable Dipak Chandra Poddar, who escorted him to the Dhaka court, were suspended.

Moving out of the court, Rubel took a piece of cloth from a nearby shop and wrapped it around the handcuffs, making it look like a bandage. He then phoned a relative and received Tk 1,000 through mobile money transfer.

Police haven't disclosed the name of the relative for investigation purpose.

Rubel stayed at a mosque until the night fell on Sunday since police were frantically searching for him, the DC said.

Outside the mosque, he had a cup of tea and a cigarette. From there he went to Gulistan by bus and later to Badda.

Around 9:30pm on Sunday, he got down near Suvastu Tower in Badda but felt it wasn't safe there. So, he moved on to Bhatara.

Having snacks in dinner, Rubel tried to contact his friends. Those he managed to get in touch with avoided the rape accused. He spent that night sleeping on the rooftop of a nearby building, the DC said.

The next morning, he thought of leaving Dhaka since he could not get the handcuffs off and police were looking for him everywhere, he added.

Having a quick breakfast with a piece of cake and soft drink, Rubel headed for Tongi. In Board Bazar area, he had lunch and sugarcane juice.

He still could not find a way to get rid of the handcuffs. He then went back to Badda, the police officer said. 

Rubel went to a deserted place behind Suvastu Tower to spend the night on Monday. He took shelter at a mess.

On information, police carried out a raid throughout that night to capture him but failed.

He was finally caught by policemen in plainclothes yesterday morning.

The alleged rapist shouted out “snatchers” as a last-ditch attempt to flee, but the policemen took the cloth off revealing the handcuffs, said Mostaq Ahmed of the DMP.

Replying to a query whether Rubel could flee from court due to police's negligence or in exchange for bribe, the DC said it was negligence on the side of the law enforcers as per the primary findings. 

Though the DC gave a detailed account of what Rubel did after he escaped and before he was recaptured, he did not say how the rape accused fled from police custody. 

The matter is under investigation, Mostaq said.

One of the prosecution told The Daily Star that Sub-inspector Emran had entered magistrate's chamber to know if he should take Rubel inside for recording of his deposition. Constable Dipak at the time was waiting with the accused outside.

Coming out minutes later Emran found neither Dipak nor Rubel. Within moments, Dipak emerged from a toilet.

A Dhaka court yesterday remanded Rubel for six days. 

During yesterday's hearing, Rubel told the court that he had fled fearing police would kill him.