Cuttack, April 10: Notorious gangster Sk Hyder escaped from police custody on Saturday evening. Hyder who was serving life sentence for a murder escaped from the surgery ward of SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack.

Though police remained tight lipped about the incident, sources said that the gangster sprayed sanitiser on police personnel escorting him at the hospital and later escaped. As many as four police personnel were escorting the gangster when the incident took place.

Sources said that Hyder was lodged in Sambalpur circle jail and was initially admitted to VIMSAR In Burla for surgery of his gallbladder. He was subsequently referred to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack on March 28.

Hyder and seven others were sentenced to life for in 2011 for killing Sheikh Chuna alias Malik Hanan, brother of gangster Sheikh Suleiman. Chuna was gunned down near the Stewart School in Bhubaneswar on May 31, 2005.  

Several teams of Cuttack, Kendarapara and Jajpur police have started an operation to trace and nab Hyder.