As the probe into the escape of three convicted prisoners from the Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan Central Jail in Hazaribagh is showing little progress, the police have come under mounting scrutiny, with the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accusing the state government of lapses and urging the Jharkhand high court to intervene.
“The trio were sent from Dhanbad after their conviction in multiple cases, including cases of sexual exploitation of children. After their escape came to light, the Dhanbad police were alerted, and raids were conducted at different locations to arrest them, but so far no clue has been found,” a police official said.
Jail IG Sudarshan Mandal confirmed the incident. “An FIR has been registered against the absconding inmates, and the investigation is ongoing. Apart from this, show-cause notices have been issued to the jail superintendent, jailer, and warder,” he said.
Amid the jail administration’s efforts, BJP state president Babulal Marandi expressed his concern over the incident.
“The escape of three prisoners serving life sentences from the Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan Central Jail in Hazaribagh is extremely worrying,” Marandi said in a post on X.
Marandi said jail security in Jharkhand was being disregarded under the state government and accused the current regime of trying to cover up the issue of poor jail security instead of taking strong action.
“Under the Hemant Soren government, jail security is being completely disregarded. Extortion rackets are being run from inside the jails, social media is being used, and even alcohol and dance parties are being organised. There are reports that influential prisoners are easily provided with every facility in jail in exchange for bribes. The Hemant government, instead of taking action against the real culprits, repeatedly suspends lower-level employees to cover up the matter,” he alleged.
Marandi said the present government was intentionally keeping the jail system weak. He alleged that the state government wakes up only after a reprimand from the court and urged the high court to take suo motu cognisance of the matter.
“Since Hemant Soren himself has served six months in jail and there is a strong possibility of him going back to jail, he wants to keep the jail system weak. It is unfortunate that the government in Jharkhand only wakes up after a reprimand from the court. Therefore, the high court should take suo motu cognisance of this matter and conduct a thorough investigation into the roles of everyone involved in this jailbreak incident, from the jail warden and jailer to the inspector general of prisons, the jail minister, and the chief minister, and take necessary action,” Marandi said.
Congress spokesperson Sonal Shanti, in response to Marandi’s statement, said that the state government has already taken cognisance of the matter and proper action will be taken.
“An FIR has already been registered in this connection. The matter is under investigation. It is being ascertained under what circumstances this happened. After a proper probe, the government will take appropriate action,” he said.
