THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has ordered a comprehensive enquiry into the escape of prisoner Govindachami from Kannur central jail.
In addition to the ongoing police investigation and departmental probes, a special, independent enquiry will be conducted. This will be led by former High Court Judge C N Ramachandran Nair and former State Police Chief Jacob Punnoose.
The decision was taken at an emergency high-level meeting convened by the Chief Minister in the wake of the Kannur incident.
Chief Secretary A Jayathilak, State Police Chief Ravada A Chandrasekhar, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Bishwanath Sinha, Public Works Secretary K Biju, Prisons Director General Balram Kumar Upadhyay, and Additional DGP (Intelligence) P Vijayan attended the meeting.
The Chief Minister said in the meeting that the incident at Kannur Central Jail was extremely serious and called for a thorough investigation and strict action.
A decision was made to make electric fencing fully operational in the four major prisons in the state within the next three months. Intelligent CCTV cameras with high-resolution surveillance capabilities will be installed in these prisons, and action in this regard will begin immediately.
To avoid issues caused by prison staff remaining in the same posting for extended periods, officers who have completed five years in one location will be transferred.
Intelligence operations inside prisons will be strengthened. Many high-risk criminals are currently lodged in high-security prisons, and the government will also consider transferring such inmates to jails in other states.
Though video conferencing facilities currently exist in prisons, steps will be taken to further strengthen them. Additional measures will be taken to improve amenities available to prisoners inside the jails.
Due to the overcrowding in existing prisons, a new Central Jail will be established. Land will be identified in the Kottayam and Pathanamthitta regions for this purpose, the meeting decided.
The Chief Minister also instructed that all ongoing investigations should be completed without delay.
