A coronavirus positive thief who broke through and escaped from an ambulance window on the way to Ranchi last night, was caught on Friday after a police-led manhunt.

Local residents who spotted him roaming in the mohalla informed the police.

The thief had escaped last week from the washroom ventilator of a Covid ward at the Hazaribagh Medical College and Hospital.

The virus infected thirty police officers in his pursuit, including two officers-in-charge.

Two police stations, Sadar and Korra, have made containment zones.

The thief, a resident of Matwari Mohalla, was seen moving in Chistia mohalla on Friday morning after eating at a small hotel there.

He started demanding marijuana from local residents and shouted at them, after which people started pelting stones out of fear.

A man named Prince Khan mustered the courage to get hold of the thief and tie him with a rope, after which a police team reached the spot and took the man back to HMCH.

Korra officer-in-charge Arvind Kumar Singh said he had no other option but to arrest the youth due to his escape history, as he had become a nuisance for residents as well as health workers.

“My only aim was to catch him first to save people from getting infected,” said Singh, adding that he was going in quarantine.

The thief has been admitted to the Covid ward of HMCH for a second time, and strict watch orders have been given so as not to give him any opportunity to escape again.

“It’s now up to officials to decide whether he will stay here or go to Ranchi”, said a doctor at HMCH.

The thief had walked 2 km from Gadikhana road to Chistia and taken shelter in the bushes to avoid getting caught. He was seen crying when local people as well as policemen beat him up when he was not moving from his place.

A policeman said this youth had stolen Rs.150 from the cash box of a kiosk.

“But even before this incident, we had received a number of complaints against him,” he said.