Jaipur jail inmates met wives, partners in hotel while cops lounged outside; 5 constables suspended

While two of them, Rafiq Bakri and Bhanwar Lal, were eventually found in hotel rooms at the airport road, two others — Ankit and Karan — were found eating poha at a hotel booked by one of their girlfriends.

The suspects were recaptured and produced before a magistrate Monday. Meanwhile, the constables — as well as four of the inmates’ relatives who helped set up the jail break — were arrested in connection with the case, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Jaipur East) Tejaswini Gautam said in a press release Sunday.

In the press note, the police said they received a tip about a possible prison break from SMS Hospital, where the four – along with yet another inmate – had been taken for a medical checkup. But at the hospital, the police allegedly found an empty police van and only one of the five inmates was still there. There were also no policemen in sight, the press release said, adding that the inmates were eventually tracked down.

According to the police sources, the inmates would frequently make such visits under the guise of medical checkups and had paid some officials Rs 25,000 for the latest venture. The inmates, the sources said, were scheduled to return to the prison by 5.30 pm but missed that deadline.

“This has been going on for a long time but this is the first time it was caught,” one police officer told The Indian Express on the condition of anonymity, adding that investigation is underway to uncover the role of prison guards as well as doctors in the incident.