THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Rape and murder convict Govindachamy’s jailbreak from the Kannur central prison has brought to fore the fear many have harboured for some time. Of systemic breakdown, owing to a myriad reasons, most noticeable being the over-politicisation of prison management.
Insiders told TNIE that the day Govindachami escaped, the system was a total shambles. So much so, even after the lockup officer counted the number of inmates in the prison block where Govindachamy stayed, it did not come to the notice of the authorities that an inmate was missing.
According to sources, the authorities often shy away from carrying out a head count of the Kannur prison inmates as many of them are politically well-connected, prompting prison officials to show
leniency in order to avoid run-ins with them. “In other central prisons, the prisoners are told to stand in lines and are counted before being escorted out of the cell. But in Kannur, this practice was irregular. A section of prison officials don’t want to irk the prisoners, who are politically affiliated, and hence, turn soft towards them,” said a source.
On the day Govindachamy, who is serving a life sentence, scaled the prison walls, it was not the serving prison staff who recognised that he had fled. Sources said a trainee assistant prison officer, currently with the State Institute of Correctional Administration (SICA)’s extension centre at the Kannur prison, found something amiss after he noticed a piece of cloth dangling from the prison wall.
Till he rushed in and informed the seniors, no one knew the unthinkable had happened.
The lapse did not end there. On the night Govindachamy escaped, an assistant prison officer who was initially deployed to scrutinise CCTV visuals was sent to escort a prisoner to hospital. When the CCTV footage was live-beamed in the control room, there was no one to monitor it, sources pointed out. Interestingly, that particular officer was among the staff suspended for alleged dereliction of duty.
Further, another lapse from the prison staff helped Govindachamy collect the civil dress that he wore while fleeing. Sources said the civil dress some prisoners use while being taken to court are kept in the store. Again, inmates with political connections manage to sneak in track pants, which is against rules.
“They get it via visitors. They claim they want to use such outfits for games, and in many cases, the prison staff budge on such demands. Govindachamy seems to have managed to get hold of one such track pants,” a source said.
No one helped him escape: Jail DIG report
The north zone jail DIG’s report on Govindachamy’s jailbreak has revealed that systemic errors and a lack of proper overseeing of the Kannur central prison resulted in the fiasco that embarrassed the department. The report prepared by DIG V Jayakumar, which was handed over to Prisons Director General Balram Kumar Upadhyay, said Govindachamy received no assistance from any prison staff or inmates.
It said Govindachamy exploited the languid approach of the prison officials to procure the materials he used to escape. He escaped wearing clothes used by remand prisoners and did not get any help from fellow prisoners, but how he managed to cut the iron grill of the cell without getting noticed need to be examined, the report said. Highlighting a dearth of prison staff, the report said the shortage has affected the proper functioning of jails.
