Notorious murder convict who broke out of Kannur jail shifted to Viyyur prison

Govindachamy, a notorious convict serving life term in the sensational 2011 Soumya murder case, was on Saturday shifted to the Viyyur central jail in Thrissur district of Kerala, a day after he broke out of Kannur prison and was caught several hours later.

The order to shift Govindachamy alias Govindaswamy (41), who is missing his left hand, to Viyyur came late Friday night, but it was decided to move him in the morning, police said.

He was taken to Thrissur early Saturday morning amidst heavy security, it said.

Govindachamy broke out of Kannur Central Jail on Friday between 4.15 am and 6.30 am and was caught from within the city limits by around 9.30 am.

A case was registered in connection with his jailbreak and he was produced before a judicial magistrate and remanded to judicial custody for 14 days.

Following the jailbreak, three prison officers of Kannur Central Jail were suspended with immediate effect, amidst allegations from various quarters that the convict had inside help in his escape.

The opposition Congress had slammed the government over the incident. It termed the government "incompetent" and alleged that "inside help" was provided for the jailbreak. It also demanded a CBI probe into the incident.

Soumya, a 23-year-old woman from Manjakkad near Shornur, was raped and murdered allegedly by Govindachamy while travelling on a passenger train from Ernakulam to Shornur on 1 February 2011. Govindachamy was convicted in this case.