Prisonbreak: Punjab CM orders security review of all jails

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 2

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Sunday ordered a magisterial inquiry by the Jalandhar Commissioner into the escape of three undertrials from Central Jail, Amritsar, and directed Jails Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa to immediately suspend, pending inquiry, all those responsible for the lapse in security.

He has also ordered the ADGP (Jails) to revamp security in prisons across the state. “Prison security will be reviewed and strengthened not only in the Amritsar jail, but also in other jails across the state,” he said.

Prison guards were alerted about the escape by other inmates, including the brother of one of the escaped prisoners.

Preliminary investigation suggests that there was no evidence of outside help and that the trio, among 61 prisoners in barrack number 7, ahata number 2, had planned the escape on their own.

Director General of Police Dinkar Gupta said the men apparently made a hole in the wall of their barrack by removing about 10 bricks. Then, they scaled the inner wall (about 16-ft high) by standing one atop the other. The outer wall (21-ft high) was scaled with the help of a makeshift ladder made of a steel bar and a quilt. They escaped the jail complex from a point near tower number 10, which was not under the CCTV cover.

The three escaped prisoners have been identified as Vishal (22) of Amritsar, Gurpreet (34) and his brother Jarnail (25), both from Khadoor Sahib.

Vishal was sent to jail on April 5, 2019, while the two brothers were brought to prison on July 8 last year.

Vishal’s brother Gaurav, who was also in barrack number 7, chose not to flee with them, the DGP said.

SAD guns for minister

Chandigarh: The SAD on Sunday demanded immediate dismissal of Jails Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and a probe by a sitting judge of the High Court into the escape of three prisoners from Amritsar’s high-security Central Jail. Senior SAD leader Daljit Singh Cheema said the escape had come in the wake of various other incidents taking place in state jails, which had shaken the confidence of people in the government. TNS