Gangtok, Oct. 19: Three police personnel were today suspended in connection with the escape of a convict from the Sir Thutob Namgyal Memorial Hospital here.

Binod Tamang, convicted for a bank robbery in Soreng, escaped incarceration by fleeing the hospital in the early hours of the morning yesterday.

He had been admitted to the hospital a week ago.

Head constables Ratna Bahadur Tamang, Prem Lal Tamang and Lakpa Tshering Lepcha were suspended today for failing to prevent the convict?s escape.

A departmental inquiry into the matter has been initiated.

The escape comes close on the heels of the infamous jailbreak at Rongyek by double murder accused Rakesh ?Spiderman? Rai and Puran Rai.

Binod escaped from the hospital at 2 am, hoodwinking the India Reserve Battalion constable on duty at that time.

According to sources, four guards had been posted at the hospital to guard him on rotation basis.

Binod was sentenced to three years in prison last year on the charge of a bank robbery he committed at Soreng in 1997.

He was admitted to the hospital on October 8 after complaining of severe abdominal pain.

Police and hospital staff believe that Binod must have escaped from the toilet of the casualty ward.

However, a close examination of the toilet reveals that it does not have any outlet and therefore the theory of Binod escaping from the toilet seems implausible.

It is widely believed that he must have given the guard the slip while the latter was fast asleep.

An eyewitness, who was sleeping nearby, said Binod had returned from the toilet to find the guard sleeping. He had then walked back to the hospital corridor from where he is likely to have made his escape.

Police said Binod had probably planned his escape well in advance.

The convict was taken to hospital on the advice of doctors who believed that he had stomach ulcers. Endoscopy and other tests , however, have not thrown up any serious ailment.

Sikkim police were responsible for keeping an eye on the convict outside jail.