UNDERTRIAL FLEES BHONDSI JAIL IN TRASH VAN, SIX SUSPENDED

GURUGRAM: An undertrial inmate, who was accused of rape, escaped from the Bhondsi Jail in a trash van on Friday afternoon, raising questions about the security in jails and prompting the administration to suspend six officials.

The jail authorities learned about the missing prisoner during the evening headcount on Friday, officials said. The inmate was identified as Amit alias Deepu, a resident of Bidhuna in Uttar Pradesh. He was arrested on September 14 from Khandsa village on charge of rape and sent to Bhondsi jail on September 15, police said. The case was registered at Sector 37 police station.

Amit, who was lodged in barrack number 3(b), is suspected to have slipped into the garbage van when it came to collect the garbage and managed to come out of the inmate area on Friday, police said. Inspector Umesh Kumar of the Bhondsi police station said the undertrial was assigned the cleaning duty. Around 1.16pm he sneaked into the trolley filled with garbage and hid. “He was seen twice in the CCTV footage. Once when he entered the garbage van and another he was seen at the exit of the jail,” Kumar said.

The police are conducting raids at various locations and coordinating with their counterparts in Uttar Pradesh from where he hails. Six officials — Barrack 3 warder in-charge Kuldeep Singh, head warder Azad Singh, security warder Rohtaas, warder Nadaan, and two cleaning staff members, Ved Prakash and Om Pal — were suspended in the light of the incident. Bhondsi jail superintendent Jai Kishan Chillar said,“We are probing the role of jail officials. Six have been suspended for negligence,” Chillar said.

A case was registered at Bhondsi police station on Friday. A team was sent to his village on Saturday, but he has not visited or contacted his family members, police said. HTC

THE INMATE WAS ARRESTED ON SEPT 14 FROM KHANDSA VILLAGE ON CHARGE OF RAPE AND SENT TO BHONDSI JAIL ON SEPT 15