Five juveniles tried to escape from a juvenile home in Mukherjee Nagar by carving out a hole in one of the walls of the compound they were living in. Officials of the juvenile home said the five used an iron grill, which they pulled out from one of the windows, to break the wall. Their attempts, however, failed because they were caught by security guards deployed inside the home. The five juveniles were reportedly kept away from other inmates under the ‘segregation facility’ because of behavioural problems and “negative influence” in the past, authorities at the Sewa Kutir said. Around 3 pm on Sunday, staff posted outside the boys’ compound heard them singing aloud. They thought the boys must be playing. After a while, the boys started banging the iron grills, using them as instruments. Officials said when the singing continued for too long, the staff sensed something was wrong and went in to check. “They were singing aloud and banging the iron grills to suppress the noise that was being made while breaking the wall. They wanted to divert the attention of the security personnel. However, the staff members caught the juveniles red-handed and informed the authorities,” Superintendent Premoday Khakha said. Authorities said the juveniles had managed to break six inches of the wall, which is enough space for one person to escape. However, they got caught before they could make an attempt to run. However, authorities claimed that even if the boys had jumped out of the compound, they would have eventually been caught by guards deployed at another compound beyond it. “The other compound is also guarded by DGR guards and it would have been impossible for the juveniles to escape. They have been segregated from the rest of the children because they have a history of behavioural problems. Many of them have a history of addiction and they show withdrawal symptoms during which they turn violent. They are aggressive and try to influence other inmates. These boys get special attention, including extra counselling, as they require a different line of treatment. We have spoken to the boys and are trying to put hem at ease through counselling,” Khakha said.
