Jamshedpur : The police are struggling to nab the fugitives who fled from the Chaibasa Divisional Jail. About 15 undertrial prisoners, including seven naxals escaped the Chaibasa Divisional Jail while they were being taken inside the jail from a prisoners’ van last evening.
Md Nehal DIG said the police resorted to firing in an attempt to prevent the prisoners fleeing from the jail, leaving two of the prisoners dead while three others managed to escape from the spot.
The police van was carrying 54 pris-oners. As soon as the prisoners were about to enter the second gate, one of the prisoners pushed the jail staff backwards and tried to run towards the main gate.
The jail staff after recovering himself opened fire. The police official said, “The incident took place while the jail van, after leaving the prisoners, was getting out of the main gate.
” DGP Rajeev Kumar has also confirmed that eight of the 15 prisoners who fled were Maoists while the other seven were general criminals. Meanwhile, extensive search operations have been launched by the security forces in the area after sealing the district borders.
A high alert has been sounded at all jails situated across Jharkhand. “The profiles of the prisoners can be known only after verification. It is a mixed group involving Maoists and criminals,” said Nehal.
Following the startling incident of undertrial prisoners escaping from near the Chaibasa Divisional Jail, the police sounded a red alert and sealed off all the exit routes to adjoining Keonjhar and Sundergarh district in Odisha.
“We are in the process of probing the incident and trying to nab the fugitives. But so far we have not succeeded to trace the whereabouts of any of them,” said West Singhbhum superintendent of police Narendra Kumar Singh.
Singh revealed that they are even conducting search and combing operation at the houses of those fled and also in the jungles across the district.
The SP said that they have served show-cause notices to 15 of the policemen posted on the duty. “We are also probing another angle over involvement of policemen on escort duty who belong to the district police.
If found guilty we will suspend the cops,” Singh said. The injured naxals have been put back in the jail today after they were treated at the Sadar Hospital in Chaibasa.
Superintendent of police said that the three injured, Sanko Chaki, Birsingh Hiburu and Hesa Purty had not sustained bullet injuries but sustained injuries after fall down in the stamped.
The superintendent of police said none of those seven naxals fled the jail was hardcore. He pointed out those killed namely Tipa Das and Ram Bilas Tanti, were definitely hardcore naxals.
