A routine head count at Ayodhya district jail on Thursday morning turned into a security scare when officials discovered that two undertrial prisoners were missing. Rushing to the quarantine barrack where the duo was lodged, they found a section of the wall was broken — the inmates had escaped.
Following the lapse, Director General (DG) of the Uttar Pradesh Prisons Department, P C Meena, ordered the suspension of seven jail officials including Superintendent U C Mishra, Jailor J K Yadav, Deputy Jailor Mayank Tripathi, a head warder and three warders.
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ADG/IG Ayodhya Range, Praveen Kumar, confirmed the escape and said an extensive search is on to trace the inmates and that the DM and SSP were at the jail for an inquiry.
Separate police teams, along with jail security staff, have launched an extensive search to trace the two undertrials.
The men, Golu Agrahari alias Suraj of Amethi district and Sher Ali of Sultanpur district, were in jail in a case of rape and attempt to murder, respectively.
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According to details shared by the administration so far, the inmates were last seen Wednesday during the 6 pm headcount while being sent back to their barrack.
Sources said during the head count on Thursday morning, however, the jail warders and head warder did not find Agrahari and Ali among the inmates. They rushed to their barrack only to find a broken wall and bricks.
Staff raised an alarm and senior officials searched the entire jail premises, but there was no trace of the men. The main boundary wall of the jail is located just beyond the barrack where the two undertrials were lodged, an official said.
Senior officials are yet to ascertain how they managed to scale the wall, around 20-25 foot high.
In a similar incident on January 4, two inmates from Kannauj district jail escaped by scaling the boundary wall. Police are yet to trace them.
Police teams and jail security staff have launched an extensive search to trace the two undertrials. Express
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