Watch: 2 jail inmates escape after hitting head warden with hammer in Andhra Pradesh

Two undertrials escaped from a prison at Chodavaram in Anakapalli district of Andhra Pradesh after attacking the jail head warden, an official said on Saturday.

"Two remand prisoners, Ramu (27) and Kumar (30), escaped from Chodavaram sub-jail around 4 pm on Friday after hitting the head warden with a hammer," Anakapalli Superintendent of Police Tuhin Sinha told PTI. Kumar, a panchayat secretary, who was on remand since April, hit the head warden with a hammer while returning the jail's kitchen keys after completing his cooking duties, he said.

During the ensuing melee between head warden V Veera Raju (45) and Kumar, Ramu rushed towards another room where guards were sleeping to lock it from outside to prevent them from helping the injured and bleeding warden, said Sinha.

Later, the duo managed to steal the main door's keys from the warden to flee, all of which occurred in two-three minutes and was captured on CCTV, said the SP. Following this jail break, Sinha said, a case of attempt to murder and escape from lawful custody was booked against Ramu and Kumar.

According to Sinha, Ramu is a property offender who has six cases against him, both in Anakapalli and Visakhapatnam city. He was arrested and remanded by the Anakapalli district police. Kumar, the main attacker and a government employee, was involved in criminal misappropriation of a pension fund and was arrested in Ananthagiri police station limits of Alluri Sitaramaraju (ASR) district, he said.

అనకాపల్లి:చోడవరం సబ్ జైలునుంచి ఇద్దరు ఖైదీల పరారీ

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"He (Kumar) was remanded by the ASR district police. He was in jail since April. It has already been five months for him. Yesterday, this panchayat secretary was involved in cooking in the sub-jail," said Sinha.

Further, Sinha observed that Chodavaram Sub-Jail is a small prison which can accommodate only 16 inmates and there were 10 yesterday.

Meanwhile, several police teams are on the hunt to capture Ramu and Kumar while Sinha expressed confidence that they will be nabbed soon.