Two prisoners escape from Odisha jail while staff, inmates were celebrating Dussehra
Cuttack (PTI): Two undertrial prisoners escaped from the high-security Choudwar circle jail in Odisha’s Cuttack district by scaling the boundary wall while the staff and other inmates were celebrating the Dussehra festival, officials said on Friday.
Two employees of the prison were suspended for dereliction of duty.
The police announced a reward of Rs 50,000 for any information leading to the arrest of the two escapees - Raja Sahani and Madhukanta Kumar, both residents of Bihar.
They were arrested in January on the charge of murdering two persons and looting a jewellery shop in Jajpur district.
Director General (Prisons and Correctional Services) Susanta Kumar Nath visited the jail and reviewed the circumstances under which the inmates escaped when staff and prisoners were celebrating Dussehra on Thursday night.
"On charge of negligence in duty, I have suspended a chief warder and a warder of the jail, and a case has been registered at Choudwar police station. DIG central range has been entrusted with the investigation," Nath told reporters.
Nath said a probe will be conducted to determine whether the escapees had the support of jail staff or from outside.
During the inspection, Nath found that the iron rods of the prisoners’ cells had been cut before they scaled the boundary wall.
"They used a blanket as a rope to climb the wall," a staff said, adding that it was suspected that the duo could manage to escape when the cultural programs were going on in the Choudwar Jail premises on Thursday night for Dussehra.
The Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) of Cuttack released the photographs of the prisoners on the run and also announced a reward for their arrest.
“Citizens are requested to provide information on the whereabouts of the accused. Reward: Cash of Rs 50,000 for any information leading to their arrest. Informer's identity will remain confidential,” the officer said in an X post.
A search operation has been on to arrest the prisoners.
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J-K: Six held with drugs, assets worth Rs 73 lakh attached in Udhampur
Jammu (PTI): Six persons were taken into custody during an intensified anti-narcotics crackdown, with police recovering contraband substances and over Rs 23 lakh in Doda and Kathua districts of Jammu and Kashmir, police said on Monday.
In a parallel action, properties worth over Rs 73 lakh linked to drug peddlers were also attached in Udhampur district under relevant legal provisions, the police said.
Additional Superintendent of Police, Doda, Mohd Aslam said three persons, including a woman, were detained during a raid on a house at Dak Mohalla in the main town following recovery of 85 grams of suspected brown sugar and over Rs 23 lakh on Sunday evening.
He identified the woman as Zareena Begum, stating that she had been under police surveillance following inputs indicating her involvement in drug peddling.
Besides Zareena, officials said her daughter and son-in-law were also picked up by police during the raid.
“We have taken three individuals into custody. Their roles are being examined, and based on that, arrests will be made. We are continuing raids at other suspected locations,” Aslam said.
Three drug peddlers --Pardeep Singh of Hiranagar, Rahees Butt of Billawar and Ali Sen of Amritsar (Punjab) -- were arrested along with heroin at different places in Kathua district, a police spokesman said.
He said while 2.79 gm of heroin was seized from Singh, 2.66 gm were recovered Butt. Similarly, 303 gm of heroin was seized from Sen who was intercepted near Berrian-Pattan village while moving in a private car from Bhagthali to Maggar Khad on the Jammu-Pathankot highway.
All the three were booked under the NDPS Act and further investigations are on, the spokesman said.
In Udhampur, the spokesman said properties worth Rs 73 lakh were attached in two separate cases registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
The attached properties included a newly constructed residential house, a car, a motorcycle and a mobile phone with a total value of Rs 65 Lakh, belonging to accused Saif Ali who was booked under the NDPS case in Majalta area early this year, he said.
In another action, movable property worth Rs 8 lakh comprising a car, belonging to accused Danish Butt of Doda has been attached under Section 68(F) NDPS Act in connection with an FIR registered at Rehambal police station, the spokesman said.
