Pune: A resident of Panchgani in Satara district, who was arrested under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, fled from the MICU ward of Sassoon General Hospital around 5pm on Monday. The accused was identified as Sunny Gautam Kuchekar (26).Deputy commissioner of police Rajlaxmi Shivankar told TOI: “We initiated a process to register an FIR against Kuchekar at the Bund Garden police station.”Kuchekar was arrested on Dec 28 and was lodged in the Satara prison as an undertrial, Shivankar said. “He complained of poor health and then he was shifted to Yerawada Central Prison, from where he was taken to Sassoon General Hospital,” she said.According to Bund Garden police, Kuchekar went to the washroom and locked himself in. The MICU ward is located on the ground floor. Personnel from the police headquarters in Shivajinagar were guarding him, but they did not enter the washroom. When he did not come out for a long time, police broke open the door and found that Kuchekar had removed the glass panel of the washroom and fled from the hospital.A Satara police officer said, “Kuchekar kidnapped and sexually abused a minor girl in Panchgani. Based on a complaint by the girl’s mother, an FIR was registered under sections of the POCSO Act and he was arrested.”
