HYDERABAD: Eight convicts, lodged at the Government Special Home for Boys in Kaiser Nagar, tricked the supervisors and managed to escape from the building in broad daylight on Tuesday. While the boys are still at large, officials revealed that five of the eight had crossed the age of 18 during their time in the juvenile home and were no longer minors.
In what police deem was a planned escape, the eight boys managed to flee from the home in a matter of five to seven minutes.
“As usual on Tuesday, at 11:45 am, a supervisor opened the classroom grill entrance to let the boys out for a milk break,” recollected Sangameshwar, Superintendent of the home. During the break, the boys could get out of the classroom onto the corridor.
“While the supervisor opened the grill and was about to let another staff member into the building, one of the boys pushed him aside and ran free,” he said.
The two supervisors who were at the spot chased the boy who had fled, in an attempt to bring him back to the home. Meanwhile, the classroom was left unguarded and there was chaos among the other students.
“Taking advantage of the opportunity, seven other boys broke through the window and escaped as per their plan,” the superintendent said. The boys were taking preparatory classes to give their 10th grade open examinations, he added.
Negligence by juvenile management: Cops
Speaking to TNIE, Medchal ACP B Srinivas Reddy pointed out that the windows used in the classroom were not secure enough. “The home had placed UPVC windows - of nominal rates - instead of strong ones that they have in dormitories,” he said.
The ACP speculated that the boys would have already removed the window grill over a period of time and kept silent until they found an opportunity to escape.
Once the boys escaped from the windows, it was only a distance of 50 m of jogging before they reached the compound wall.
“Even the compound wall is only 5ft high and the barbed wires are not placed across the compound wall,” said Srinivas Reddy and added, “The juvenile home had no proper precautions in terms of security.”
Further, the ACP pointed out that while the boys escaped from the home at 11:45 am, the management filed a petition at the police station only at 9:30 pm. “They claimed that their superior officers had come to the home for inspection, they were busy with work and hence, the delay in filing a complaint,” he said, observing that it was an unnecessary delay in informing the police.
Superintendent Sangameshwar told TNIE that the management has contacted the parents of the convicts who had fled from the home to verify if they had returned back to their residence. “Two of the boys had contacted their parents. Investigation is underway,” he said.
Sangameshwar also noted that they have suspended the two staff members who were reportedly negligent and let the boys escape. “One of them is aged above 55 and the other is 50 years old,” he said.
Meanwhile, the police have deployed two teams to trace the boys. The home in-charge has been questioned and the CCTV footage is also being examined.
Suraram police have registered a case against the eight boys under IPC Section 224 on charges of resistance or obstruction by a person to his lawful apprehension.
While the investigation is underway, ACP Srinivas Reddy said, “We will trace the boys and hand them over to the juvenile home. With regards to the boys aged above 18, we might consider them for trial as major, based on specifications in the Juvenile Justice Act.”