Police have arrested Kedarnath Sharma, former operator of Shivashikhar Multipurpose Cooperative, who fled Nakkhu Prison during the September 9 jailbreak.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Dharmaraj Bhandari of the Central Investigation Bureau, confirmed that Sharma was apprehended in Sanepa, Lalitpur, on Wednesday and immediately handed back to Nakkhu prison authorities. He had been serving time for cooperative fraud charges.

Sharma was among dozens of inmates and detainees facing trial who escaped after arson and vandalism broke out inside the prison earlier this month.

Nationwide, over 14,000 inmates and detainees broke free from 28 prisons and police custody centres on September 9. Authorities say around 8,000 fugitives have so far been re-arrested, while others remain at large.