Chandigarh (Punjab):Three undertrial prisoners escaped from the high-security Amritsar Central Jail by scaling the boundary walls, prompting Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh to order a review and revamp of prison security across the state.
The three -- one accused of rape and the other two (both brothers) of theft and dacoity -- escaped on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday by making a hole in the wall of their barrack by removing about 10 bricks, officials said.
"They then appear to have scaled the inner wall -- which is about 16-feet high -- by standing one atop the other. While the outer wall -- approx 21-feet -- was crossed by them using a hook made of a steel bar and the cover of a quilt to make a ladder.
"They finally escaped the jail complex from a point near Tower no. 10, which was not under CCTV cover," DGP Dinkar Gupta said, as per an official statement.
The DGP said that there was no evidence of any outside help, according to preliminary investigations, which suggests that the trio, among 61 prisoners in barrack no. 7, Ahata no. 2, had planned their escape on their own. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Singh ordered a magisterial inquiry which will be led by Commissioner Jalandhar.
Singh has also directed the jails minister to immediately suspend, pending inquiry, all those responsible for prison security.
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He also asked the ADGP Jails to review and further strengthen prison security not just in this jail but in jails across the state, officials said.