Police in Kalaburagi district on Tuesday managed to foil a Pocso convict’s escape attempt, hours after he and two others escaped Kalaburagi Central Prison, allegedly after cutting through iron bars in a washroom window and scaling the compound wall, setting off a statewide manhunt and a probe into the nature of the security lapse, officers said.
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The escaped convicts were identified as Mastan (26), from Islampur; Santosh (28), from Aurad taluk; and Sagar (29), from Bidar taluk. Mastan and Santosh were convicted in separate cases under the Pocso Act, and Sagar was convicted in a murder case.
Bidar SP Pradeep Guntti said that Santosh was arrested in Humnabad at around 6.30pm, and was being questioned.
“After escaping from the prison, two of the three convicts reportedly traveled from Kalaburagi to Humnabad on a public transport bus. Police had set up a checkpoint on the outskirts of Humnabad and were conducting vehicle inspections. When the prisoners noticed the police, they allegedly attempted to flee into the industrial area,” said Guntti.
Police said the jailbreak took place between 4 am and 4.30 am.
“According to the preliminary information received from the prison, at around 4.00 to 4.30 a.m., three inmates escaped by cutting the iron bars of a bathroom window. They then climbed over the compound wall and fled the prison,” Kalaburagi police commissioner Sharanappa SD said.
The commissioner added that he visited the prison with other senior officers soon after being informed to ascertain the precise circumstances.
“Construction work was underway inside the jail. According to sources, the prisoners used a ladder to climb the compound wall. While crossing the electric wire fence and descending outside, they used a T-shirt and a towel as a makeshift rope to jump down and escape,” he said.
A case was registered and police formed multiple special teams to trace the escapees, said officers. Investigators said they were examining CCTV footage to reconstruct the inmates’ movements.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, state BJP chief BY Vijayendra noted that the prison fell within state home minister Priyank Kharge’s constituency. “Home minister Priyank Kharge is currently busy with the Iran- America war. He will come here after finishing that,” he quipped, and demanded that the state order an inquiry into the security lapse and taken strict action against those found negligent.
