As Ramleela Performance Goes On, Two Prisoners Escape from Jail in Haridwar

The two inmates including a murder convict disappeared during the yearly Ramleela performance at the Haridwar District jail on Friday.

Haridwar: The escape of two prisoners from Haridwar district jail has created a stir. The runaway prisoners are identified as Pankaj, a resident of Roorkee and Rajkumar, a resident of Gonda, Uttar Pradesh. Both escaped from jail when they got the chance during the performance of Ramleela, officials aid.

Pankaj was serving life imprisonment in a murder case, while Rajkumar is an undertrial prisoner. The police are searching for both. It is being told that a high-security barrack was being constructed in the jail, for which a staircase was installed and it was used by the prisoners to escape. The escape of both prisoners is raising questions on the jail administration.

Haridwar DM and SSP reached the district jail and took stock of the incident. The administration said that the escape of two prisoners by jumping over the wall took place due to the negligence of the jail staff. A case has been registered in the Sidkul police station under relevant sections. The District Magistrate has also talked about a magisterial inquiry.

DM Karmendra Singh said that Ramleela was going on here when the prisoners escaped and special attention should have been paid to security but this was not done.

The absconding Pankaj is a member of the infamous Praveen Valmiki gang and was serving a life sentence in a murder case, while Ramkumar was in jail in a kidnapping case.

Meanwhile, Haridwar SSP Pramod Dobal said that forensic and dog squad teams are trying to gather clues as part of the search for the prisoners who escaped.

In this case, Senior Jail Superintendent of Haridwar District Jail Manoj Kumar Arya said that he was on leave when the incident took place. He said that the construction work of a high-security barrack is going on in the district jail.

Arya that at night when all the prisoners were locked in the barracks and, during the counting, it was found that two prisoners were missing, after which the entire jail was searched. After that, the CCTV cameras were searched. On the other hand, during the interrogation of a prisoner, it was revealed that both these prisoners had escaped from the jail by using a ladder. The police are busy searching for both of them.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has ordered a probe into the incident. Officials said that six personnel were suspended for negligence in their duty.

Those personnel, who have been suspended are Pyare Lal Arya, Kuwar Pal Singh, Premshankar Yadav, Vjay Pal Singh, Ompal Singh and Nilesh Kumar.