JAMMU, Nov 3 — Laxity leading to failure in security system on the part of the jail staff and the officers and sleuths of the Intelligence wing of the police had been instrumental in the escape of three top Pakistani militants from Kot Bhalwal Jail in Jammu on October 16.

The Commission has not been asked to identify those responsible for helping the Pakistani nationals to escape from the Jail. Mr Raju had been given 10 days time to submit his report to the government but recently sought an extension by another 10 days.

Authoritative sources said that the report had been prepared and was being typed out.

The report while indicting the Jail staff, has said that system of roll call of the militants and criminals lodged in the jail had been absent in Kot Bhalwal. Under the rules every evening and morning the Jail officials had to carry out the role call as per the register but it was not adhered to. And had this system been in vogue the militants would have not been able to jump to safety because they needed several hours to cross over two walls, height varying between 11 feet and 20 feet.

The Raju report has also indicted senior Jail and CID officials for not having made regular visit to the cells. He has come to the conclusion that no senior official inspected cells and wards inside the sprawling jail premises. On the basis of the examination of the jail record and cross examination of wardens and other employees the commission has stated in the report that neither the Superintendent Police Jail nor his deputy carried out regular rounds of the Jail and the entire administration had been left to officials holding the rank of ASI and head constable.

The inner cell in which the three Pakistani nationals had been lodged had a very small lock which could have been broken with a stone. The gate of the outer cell was lockless allowing opportunity to the militants to spend most of the time in the verandah looking for the possible escape route.

Mr Raju is said to have come to the conclusion that the food for the militants should have come within the Jail and not from outside. This could have allowed the accomplices of the militants operating from outside the jail to send some sharp-edged blades which helped them to break the cell window.

The Commission report has ruled out the possibility of three militants having walked to safety from the main gate. The three militants have received help from within and from without the jail premises for scaling the two walls. The most plausible theory by the experts is that some helpers would have hurled a rope from outside the jail wall and the three militants have, one by one, scaled the walls with the help of the rope which might have been pegged to a tree.

This exercise may have taken several weeks and since the system of regular roll call was missing one cannot be certain whether the three militants escaped on October 16 or earlier. One report had said that the militants had first gone into hiding under the tall grass in the jail lawns before they jumped to safety. According to this report the jail officials had observed the jail-break incident but maintained discreet silence with the hope that search within the prison premises may lead to their rearrest. It was after 10 hours that the police control room in Jammu had received the first report of the jailbreak.

The Raju committee is said to have made several recommendations for beefing up security system in all jails where the militants are lodged. He has not, however, made any observation regarding the laxity of the security forces for having failed to nab the three militants when they crossed over to Pakistan after four days of escape from the jail.

The government has already placed under suspension 11 jail officials including the SP, Deputy SP and two inspectors though the SP had been on leave right from October 13.