Patna: Four undertrials, who were brought to the Samastipur court for hearings on Wednesday, escaped the custody by overpowering the security guards. According to police, five prisoners were brought to the court in different cases, and after hearings, initially five managed to flee but one was caught.Upon receiving information about the incident, Samastipur Sadar subdivisional police officer-I, Sanjay Kumar Pandey, reached the court premises and took stock of the situation. The prisoners on the run have been identified as Rajnandan, alias Chhotu, alias Haider, and Arvind Sahni from Vaishali district; and Manish Kumar and Manjeet Kumar from Muzaffarpur’s Mungauli village. Nagendra Mahto from Vaishali’s Daulatpur Chandi was caught. Pandey said Rajnandan had a court appearance in an Arms Act case. “After the hearing, a guard was taking him to the court lock-up. As the guard opened the lock and tried to put Rajnandan inside, the other accused pushed hard against the grill, and the guard fell down. Taking advantage of the situation, Rajnandan and others escaped. After raising an alarm, the guard managed to catch Nagendra, who is being questioned,” Pandey said.Rajnandan faces charges under the Arms Act, with an FIR lodged at Town police station. Manish, Arvind and Manjeet are charged with robbery, and an FIR is registered at Sarairanjan police station. The authorities have launched a search operation to track the escaped prisoners. The city has been cordoned off. Pandey said if any security lapse or negligence on the part of the police personnel in the matter is found, action will be taken against them. “The police team has also circulated photos of all the criminals on the run to all police stations in the district. The police are also conducting surveillance at the border regions by activating additional check posts to prevent the accused from leaving the district.”