Haridwar prison break: Three inmates planned to scale wall, one failed as ladder fell
Haridwar, Oct 13: Two prisoners who escaped from Haridwar district jail had hatched the plan with a third inmate, who also tried to scale the prison wall with them but failed as his ladder fell, police sources said on Sunday.
The three had planned the prison break about a week before a Ramlila event in jail which they took advantage of to escape, they said.
Police, however, are yet to find any leads on the whereabouts of the two prisoners who managed to escape.
Pankaj, who is serving life imprisonment, and Ramkumar Chauhan, an undertrial in a kidnapping and ransom case, escaped from the prison on Friday night. Six jail officials, including jailer Pyarelal, were suspended for negligence after the matter came to light.
Haridwar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Pramendra Doval formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which will be led by Additional Superintendent of Police (Sadar) Jitendra Mehra, on Friday night to re-arrest the prisoners as soon as possible.
The police sources said preliminary investigation revealed that Pankaj and Ramkumar had planned to escape with another inmate, Chhotu. The three planned the prison break about a week before the Ramlila performance.
Taking advantage of the fact that the prison staff was preoccupied with preparations for the Ramlila performance, the three tied two ladders together using a piece of cloth and put it next to the wall. Pankaj and Rajkumar managed to successfully scale the wall. But when Chottu started climbing the ladder, it fell and he failed to escape, the sources said.
Ten teams have been deployed to nab Pankaj and Rajkumar. The teams are yet to find any clues about their whereabouts, police said.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
