A Ramlila, a ladder and a prison break — 2 inmates in the wind, Uttarakhand jail authorities launch search

According to the police, the two used the distraction offered by the performance to find a ladder left by construction workers on the premises to scale up the prison wall and escape.

The ladder was left there due to ongoing construction of some new high-security barracks,” the officer said.

The absence of the two inmates wasn’t allegedly noticed until 8 pm, when prison authorities took their routine headcount in the barracks. According to Dobhal, the department was informed of the jailbreak at 6.30 am Saturday and special teams were set up to track down the inmates.

“An FIR has been registered, and we are actively searching for both. We will soon have results,” the SSP said.

Jailor Manoj Arya, who was on leave at the time of the incident, described the incident as a “security lapse”.

“The two prisoners initially left their cells under the guise of attending the Ramlila event but instead made their way to the main wall of the prison,” he said.

Meanwhile, a probe has been launched into the delay in reporting the incident.

“The incident occurred Friday night, but we were informed only in the morning. We are probing the reason for the delay and whether the standard operating procedure was followed,” SSP Dobhal said.