Tura, May 18: A man who was facing a court hearing in connection with a case of kidnapping an underage girl, with whom he had allegedly eloped, ran away from the Tura district court on Thursday unaware that the court was granting him bail in the case.

The accused, 21 year old Benedick A Sangma of Tebrongre, jurisdiction Police station Damal Asim, was accused of kidnapping the girl. He is said to have eloped with a girl who was underaged and the family had filed a case against him leading to his detention by police.

He was before a judge hearing his case in the Tura district court on Thursday when he did the unthinkable.

While the court was preparing the paperwork allowing him to be released on bail, the detained man, unaware of the bail plea being accepted, sought permission to go to the toilet.

This being his first court appearance he seemed to be in a state of panic.

He was escorted by a police constable to the toilet and it was while coming back from the lavatory that he took the extreme step of running away. He jumped from the courtyard into the shrubs below and ran for “freedom”. He is still to be found.

When last heard, police are on the lookout for him, his bail plea has been dismissed and, if and when caught, will be facing a new case that will ultimately land him in prison without bail.