KOCHI: In a daring escape, three inmates, including a Kolkata native, of the Government Mahila Mandiram at Champakkara here, were discovered missing on Monday. The disappearance of the trio was noticed around 2am, police said. Though there were unconfirmed reports that two of the girls were since traced to Koxhikode, their veracity could not be independently established.
According to the complaint lodged by Mahila Mandiram authorities, after the employees went to sleep, their rooms and dormitory were bolted from outside by the trio, who used a shawl to slither down to the ground floor from the terrace of the building. “An inquiry is under way on the basis of the complaint,” said an officer of Maradu police Station.The trio includes an 18-year-old, who had been brought to the mandiram from a convent at Ponnurunni, Vyttila 10 months ago, and a 19-year-old Kumbalam native residing at the mandiram for over a year, besides the 19-year-old Kolkata native. The girl from Kolkata has been staying here for about four years following her involvement in a criminal case.
The police recovered a note, believed to have been written by the fugitive inmates, which said that they did not wish to continue at the institution. “The police are carrying out inspections at railway stations and bus stands in the city. The two Kochi girls were deserted by their kin, following family a feud, it is learnt. The Mahila Mandiram authorities do not know much about the family background of the inmates.
All lodges and hostels are under our surveillance. The investigation team has also gathered the CCTV footage from nearby locations of the Mahila Mandiram and the missing girls will be traced soon,” said an officer. Widows, divorced, deserted and destitute women above 18 years, who have none to look after them, are admitted in the institution.