Dreaded criminal Uday Sethi escapes from Nepal jail

Madhepura/Supaul: Amid violent Gen-Z protests in Nepal, dreaded underworld criminal Uday Sethi escaped from Rasua jail following a jailbreak on Wednesday.Security forces attempted to prevent the fleeing don but failed amid fierce protests by other inmates, said Subhash Podel, the jailor.Uday, who hailed from Mumbai in Maharashtra, had been lodged in jail in connection with kidnapping and murder cases, as well as collecting ransom money for the safe release of abductees, said an authority on condition of anonymity. Along with Indian citizen Amar Tandon, Uday had established a major crime network in Nepal before 2010. Their targets included industrialists, doctors and businessmen, from whom they extorted ransom after kidnappings.Revealing the modus operandi of the duo, a local authority said they used to make threat calls from Indian phone numbers, demanding hefty sums and warning of dire consequences. “They killed some targeted persons who refused to pay the ransom,” the source added.Police had launched a massive crackdown on such crimes more than a decade ago, arresting Amar Tandon, a main aide of Uday. During that period, in 2011, Neeraj Kaksherpati was kidnapped for ransom. While investigating the case, police laid a trap, arrested underworld don Uday Sethi, and lodged him in jail.A similar incident was reported at Rajbiraj jail in Saptari district near the border, where several prisoners lodged in B block escaped after setting the block on fire. At the time, 397 prisoners were housed in the block. Jail authorities are now working to identify the escaped inmates for re-arrest.