Two women arrested in a suspected railway wire theft case pulled off a dramatic escape from the RPF lock-up in Belapur in the early hours of September 28, allegedly breaking the lock and tying their sarees to a generator in the police station balcony to climb down the building. One of the women was caught within hours, while the other remains on the run, police said.

The two women had been arrested over the alleged theft of overhead electric wire from a godown at Juinagar railway station. (Anshuman Poyrekar/Representational)

Rupali Kailas Kurhade, 30, from Jalna district, and Shalibai Ashok Pawar, 40, from Bhiwandi, had been arrested on September 26 over the alleged theft of overhead electric wire from a godown at Juinagar railway station.

The theft was reported to the RPF by the concerned railway office on September 24. The Belapur RPF registered a case under Section 3(a) of the Railway Property (Unlawful Possession) Act, 1966, as amended in 2012.

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The duo were arrested around 5.30pm and produced before the 35th court at CSMT the next day. The court granted their police custody until September 30. They were subsequently brought to the RPF Belapur police station and lodged in the lock-up around 7.30pm, with a woman constable assigned to guard them.

However, around 2.13am on September 28, the two allegedly escaped when the woman head constable on night duty went to the bathroom.

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Kurhade was traced around 8.45am near Nerul railway station and taken into custody, the complaint stated. Police were continuing efforts to trace Pawar.