Five inmates escape from jail in Assam, probe on

Guwahati, Oct 11 (IANS) At least five inmates, accused in a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) case, escaped from Assam's Morigaon district Jail on Friday, officials said.

The inmates were identified as Saifuddin, Jiyarul, Nur Islam, Mafidul, and Abdul Rashid.

According to police, the inmates allegedly used blankets, lungis, and bedsheets to scale the jail walls after breaking the iron rods of their respective barracks.

"The incident occurred around 2 a.m. The jail wall is about 20 feet high; however, the prisoners used blankets, lungis, and bedsheets to make a long thread to escape the tall boundary," the police claimed.

"All five of them were accused in a POCSO case and the trial was underway," a senior police official told IANS.

He said that a case had been lodged and a probe was launched. An investigation team reached the jail premises to record details of the incident.

"We are hopeful that the accused persons will be re-arrested soon," the police officer added.

A search is underway to arrest them, he said.

Earlier in March this year, three undertrial prisoners in Tezpur Central Jail escaped by breaking the toilet window. The escaped prisoners were identified as Indajit Mandal, Zeherul Islam and Thuleshwar Tati.

While Zeherul Islam and Thuleshwar Tati were residents of Thelamara village in the Dhekiajuli region of Sonitpur, Assam, Indajit Mandal hailed from West Bengal. The Sonitpur police had arrested them last year.

Zeherul Islam and Thuleshwar Tati were arrested on the charges of abducting and raping a minor girl, while Indajit Mandal was arrested in connection with a different incident. A senior police officer said, "The preliminary inquiry revealed that these three had managed to get out of a window inside the jailhouse by breaking its rods."