Samba/Jammu: A hardcore criminal escaped from police custody in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Sunday.

Mohd Latief alias Latief Punjabi, a resident of Malpur in the Hoshiarpur district of Punjab, was arrested near his rented house in Chak Dayala near Basantar bridge on Thursday, police said.

A pistol and five cartridges were seized from him, they said.

He was lodged at Rakh Amb Tali police post from where he escaped late Saturday, they said.

Various police teams have been constituted to nab the criminal who is wanted in multiple cases of attempt to murder, theft, rioting and Arms Act in Samba district and Punjab, officials said. -(PTI)