Can Prisoners Walk Out Of Jail Unnoticed? This Convict Proved It's Easier Than You Think
And he did it without any violence, blood or chase!
By Sadho Ram — 12 Apr 2015, 06:46 PM
In a sequence straight out of a spy movie, Manjunath, a convict serving life term for murder, escaped from the central prison of Bangalore, India, by just walking out of the front door of the prison.
According to a report on the Times of India, prison officials, who're in a sense of shock, had no idea about his escape till they conducted the daily headcount of inmates a couple of hours later.
According to a report on TEHELKA, India's foremost magazine for investigative journalism, it's a common practice with many prisoners who are serving long sentences to visit the surrounding area for a few rupees. While only a few convicts have been given the liberty, some others 'manage' their way out. It was under this 'managing' of Rs 300 (17 Malaysian Ringgit) that Manjunath walked out of the gate, but only to escape. It was when he wasn't present at the evening roll-call that it came to light that the prisoner had escaped rather walked out of the jail. An internal enquiry has been ordered.
Here's how he did it, as told by prison authorities:
On Friday round 5pm when all the prisoners were let out their barracks to courtyard, Manjunath walked up to the administrative block of the jail. He told the guard there, he wanted to apply for parole.
He went into the administrative block and came out after a while. But instead of going back to the prison, he went to second gate of the jail (part of the inner fortified wall), his first step to freedom. During this time inside the administrative block, he had managed to get a stamp on his hand. The prison officials, however, are unable to explain as to how he managed to get a stamp on his hand, which is used by the Bengaluru central jail authorities to identify visitors from prisoners and change his clothes.
At the second gate, when the guard stopped him he simply showed the stamp and moved ahead. With second gate crossed, he only had the main gate (part of the main periphery wall) between him and his freedom.
At the main gate, however, the guard pulled up after recognising him to be a prisoner. At this time Manjunath told the guard that he was already on the parole and had come to the jail to get an extension of his parole. He even shared "joy" of getting his parole with guard, before he was let out of the front gate.
The DIG Prisons, in his defence, says:
"It is not a security lapse, but a minor miscommunication between the officers that helped Manjunath walk out from the prison walls. Our prison staff was confused, as there was a seal on his hand. We will have to find out where he got it from once we nab him."
Kamal Pant, additional director general of police (prisons), confirmed that an inquiry has been ordered into how the lifer managed to get a seal on his hand, which was meant exclusively for visitors. “Also we have filed a case with a local police station,” he said.
tehelka.com