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Two prisoners escape from Odisha jail while staff, inmates were celebrating Dussehra

Both were arrested for looting a jewellery shop and the murder of two persons in Jajpur district in January, officials said.

During the inspection, Nath found that the iron rods of the prisoners' cells had been cut before they scaled the boundary wall. (Representative Image)

Two undertrial prisoners escaped from the high-security Choudwar circle jail in Odisha’s Cuttack district by scaling the boundary wall, officials said on Friday. They were identified as Raja Sahani and Chandrakant Kumar, both residents of Bihar.

Both were arrested for looting a jewellery shop and the murder of two persons in Jajpur district in January, officials said.

Director General (Prisons and Correctional Services) Susanta Kumar Nath visited the jail on Friday and reviewed the circumstances under which the inmates escaped when staff and prisoners were celebrating Dussehra on Thursday night.

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“On charge of negligence in duty, I have suspended a chief warder and a warder of the jail, and a case has been registered at Choudwar police station. DIG central range has been entrusted with the investigation,” Nath told reporters.

Nath said a probe will be conducted to determine whether the escapees had the support of jail staff or external help.

During the inspection, Nath found that the iron rods of the prisoners’ cells had been cut before they scaled the boundary wall.

“They used a blanket as a rope to climb the wall,” a staff member said. Meanwhile, prison authorities, with the help of local police, have launched a search operation to arrest the prisoners.

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