Police in Kalaburagi district on Tuesday foiled the escape attempt of a Buxo convict, hours after he and two others escaped from Kalaburagi Central Prison, after cutting iron bars in a bathroom window and climbing over the compound wall, sparking a statewide manhunt and an investigation into the nature of the security vulnerability, officers said.
The escaped convicts are Mastan (26 years old), from Islampur; Santosh (28 years old) from Orad taluk; and Sagar, 29, from Bidar taluk. Mastan and Santosh were convicted in two separate cases under the Buxo Act, and Sagar was convicted in a murder case.
Bidar SP Pradeep Gunty said Santosh was arrested in Hommanabad around 6.30 pm and is being interrogated.
“After escaping from prison, two of the three convicts traveled from Kalaburagi to Homnabad on a public transport bus. The police set up a checkpoint on the outskirts of Homnabad and were searching vehicles. When the prisoners noticed the police, they allegedly tried to escape to the industrial area,” Junty said.
Police said the prison break occurred between 4am and 4.30am.
“According to initial information received from the jail, at around 4.00 to 4.30 am, three prisoners escaped by cutting the iron bars of the bathroom window. They then climbed the compound wall and escaped from the jail,” Kalaburagi Police Commissioner Sharanappa SD said.
The commissioner added that he visited the prison with other senior officers shortly after he was informed to ascertain the exact conditions.
He added: “Construction work was underway inside the prison. According to the sources, the prisoners used a ladder to climb the wall of the compound. As they crossed the electric wire fence and descended outside, they used a shirt and a towel as a makeshift rope to jump and escape.”
A case has been registered and police have formed multiple special teams to track down the fugitives, officers said. Investigators said they were examining surveillance camera footage to reconstruct the prisoners’ movements.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, state BJP president P Vijayendra pointed out that the prison falls under the jurisdiction of state Home Minister Priyank Karg. “Home Minister Priyank Karjee is currently busy with the Iran-US war. He will come here after this is finished,” he joked, urging the state to order an investigation into the security lapse and take strict action against those found negligent.
