Cuttack, Apr 17 (PTI) The Odisha Police could not take gangster Sheik Hyder, who was nabbed after he recently escaped from custody during treatment, on remand, as he tested positive for COVID-19, an official said on Saturday.

"The gangster, in isolation, is undergoing treatment inside the jail premises and the district authorities have been informed about his health status," he said.

He will be shifted to a Covid hospital with adequate security should there be any official communication in this regard, he said.

A local court had allowed the commissionerate police to take Hyder on remand for seven days beginning Saturday.

"Since the gangster is now infected with the virus, the police remand has been put off," Cuttack DCP Prateek Singh said.

Undergoing life sentences in two murder cases, Hyder had on April 10 fled from the SCB Medical College and Hospital here after intoxicating a security guard, to Telangana, where he was arrested with the help of police from that state.

Singh said a case has been lodged against the gangster at Mangalabag police station after he escaped from the hospital.

"So far seven persons, including two women, have been arrested in this connection," the DCP added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)