Harpreet Singh, 25, was arrested from Connaught Place in Delhi. (Representational)
A "military deserter", who recently escaped from a hospital in Hoshiarpur, Punjab, was arrested from Delhi today morning, the police said.
Harpreet Singh, 25, who had been booked for stealing rifles and ammunition from an army institute in Madhya Pradesh, was arrested from Connaught Place in Delhi around 9 am.
"Harpreet has been arrested from Delhi by a team of Hoshiarpur police," Hoshiarpur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Gaurav Garg said, adding that the accused had planned to escape to Nepal.
On January 14, the accused had tricked police guards by making an excuse of going to the washroom and escaped from a civil hospital in Hoshiarpur by scaling its wall. He had been undergoing treatment at the hospital for a hand injury since December 31.
Harpreet Singh, who was a sepoy in the Indian Army, is facing charges for stealing two INSAS rifles and ammunition from the army's training institute in Pachmarhi in Madhya Pradesh, they said.
He was arrested from Chotala village near Tanda in Hoshiarpur district in December after being declared a "military deserter" in October last year.
Harpreet Singh's three accomplices were also arrested at that time. Posing as army officers, the accused had stolen the rifles and ammunition in the early hours of December 6.
The stolen arms and ammunition were recovered.
Harpreet Singh is facing charges under sections of 380 (theft), 399 (making preparation to commit dacoity) and 411 (dishonestly receiving stolen property) of the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act, the police had said.