Rape-accused escapes Gurugram jail in garbage truck; police book prison officials for security lapses

Gurugram: In a Bollywood movie-style escape, an under-trial rape accused fled from the high security Bhondsi jail in Gurugram, officials said on Saturday. [caption id=“attachment_4353521” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The accused, Amit, on Friday afternoon managed to escape from the district jail by discreetly boarding a garbage collection vehicle, police said. Amit was arrested on the charge of rape and sent to judicial custody on 15 September. The accused was lodged in jail’s barrack number 3, they said. On 22 September, the under-trial was found missing during counting of inmates around 5 pm. The jail superintendent was immediately informed who initiated a thorough inquiry into the matter. “During scrutiny of CCTV footage, it appeared that Amit managed to board a garbage collection vehicle around 1.15 pm. The vehicle came inside the jail to collect garbage and he managed to board it without being noticed by jail warden or security personnel. The under-trial hid himself under the garbage,” Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) Shamsher Singh said. Amit alighted the vehicle at a garbage dump yard and fled from there. A case has been registered against Amit in the matter, the police said. During internal inquiry, the jail superintendent found serious security lapses. The officer held in-charge warden of barrack number 3, Kuldeep Singh, head warden Azad Singh, wardens Rohtash Singh and Nadaan, and garbage collection unit employees Ved Pal and Om Prakash for the incident. “The said jail officials have been booked under relevant IPC sections,” the ACP said. A manhunt was launched to nab Amit, the police officer added.