Thrissur (Kerala) | An accused in several cases of robbery and theft has escaped from the custody of Tamil Nadu police right outside Viyyur central jail, where he was brought back after being produced in a court in that state, Kerala police said on Saturday.

The accused -- Balamurugan -- escaped from police custody on Friday night.

He is allegedly involved in over 50 cases of thefts and robberies, majority of them in Tamil Nadu, an officer of Viyyur police station said.

The officer said that police were going through CCTV footage to ascertain exactly how the criminal escaped from the police vehicle in which he was brought to the prison.

The police in Kerala have also launched a manhunt to trace and capture the criminal, the officer said.