A 23-year-old undertrial tried to flee the Alipore court after hurling a fistful of chilli powder at two constables, only to be tripped by a witness.

Cops pounced on Mohammed Munir, a driver, as soon as he fell and dragged him back to the courtroom where he stood trial for allegedly robbing a law student — who later said she escaped his clutches by spraying deodorant in his eyes — last November.

In the evening, a separate case was slapped on Munir for trying to escape from custody.

Munir, lodged in Alipore Central jail, was brought to the court around 11.30am. “When he got off the police van, he suddenly raised his clenched fist and tossed red chilli power at the two constables accompanying him. The cops ducked and that gave him a chance to run,” recalled S.B. Sharma, from his tea stall on the court premises.

“He had run 20-odd metres when someone tripped him,” said Ashraf Ansari, a court clerk and witness.

A lawyer said on condition of anonymity that such an incident could happen any time as there was no lock-up in the court. “Some of the undertrials are terrorists and they just wait in the van till their case comes up for hearing.”

Munir, who had been hired by a Santoshpur lawyer to drive his A-Star, has been accused of robbing law student Chandrima Gupta who had hitched a ride in the car on November 10, 2009. According to the girl, she sprayed deodorant in his eyes and escaped.