Guwahati, Oct. 9: A Harkat-ul-Ansar militant, Nurul Amin, escaped from police custody shortly after being admitted to Gauhati Medical College Hospital for treatment of piles.

An official source said constable Raj Kumar Singh, who was supposed to guard Nurul, was inebriated when the militant fled the casualty ward through a bathroom window this evening.

The police are investigating the possible involvement of a doctor in the escape of the militant, arrested in 1999. Senior SP (city) Nitul Gogoi said the constable has been suspended. “A probe has also been instituted to ascertain the circumstances leading to the prisoner’s escape.”

Although arrested in Assam, Nurul was in Tihar Jail until recently for his involvement in the kidnapping of four foreigners from the capital in 1994. The militant was brought back to Guwahati a few months ago for trial in a case registered against him here.

Inspector-general of police (special branch) Khagen Sarma said Nurul had kidnapped three Britons and an American in 1994 to bargain for the release of 10 militants. The American was rescued from a house in Ghaziabad on October 31 that year, while the three Britons were found in Saharanpur the next day.