COIMBATORE: Twenty days have passed since a prisoner escaped from the Freedom Fuel outlet run by the Coimbatore Central Prison at Gandhipuram, but police are yet to trace him.
The prisoner, S Vijayarathinam (32) , was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in a Pocso case in 2019 and housed in the prison. After observing his good conduct, authorities appointed him as pump operator in the Freedom Fuel filling station. On October 29 while changing the shift, Vijayarathinam escaped from the outlet.
A special team of Coimbatore police that went to his home town Gudalur has returned empty handed, and a team of Prison & Correctional Services Department is camping in the town. Since it is a hilly region and mostly has forest areas, law enforcement agencies have sought the help of forest department to search for him.
“We do not know if he is using a mobile phone. Also, we did not have his recent photograph and have only an old one,” sources added.