GUWAHATI: Five undertrial prisoners, facing charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, escaped from the district jail in central Assam’s Morigaon in the wee hours of Friday.
The police launched a manhunt for the five prisoners. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told the media that he directed the police to nab them.
The district authorities ordered a magisterial probe to find out if there were any lapses on the part of jail security personnel. The five inmates were arrested earlier from Morigaon and Sonitpur districts.
According to authorities in Morigaon, the inmates broke the iron grille of their cell and used blankets, lungis and bed sheets to make a makeshift rope. They then used it to make good their escape. The jail has a 20 ft tall boundary wall.
Senior police officials visited the site following the incident. This is the second incident of jailbreak in Assam this year.
In March, three inmates had escaped from the Tezpur Central Jail in Sonitpur district. They were allegedly involved in several crimes including kidnapping and rape of a minor.