The probe committee led by SSP Ramesh Phuyal claimed that the policemen deployed for the jail security worked hand in glove with the inmates to plan for the jail break. However, another probe committee led by Shambhu Koirala, Director General of Department of Prison Management, has yet not revealed anything about the complicity of the jail administration authorities in the jail break. [break]The Koirala committee has only maintained that the jail authorities were ´guilty of negligence´.
According to Phuyal, five of the 46 policemen deployed for the jail security had received several calls from a CDMA phone used by the inmates on the night of the jail break. “It appears that those inmates who broke away from the jail had several rounds of conversation with policemen Thursday night,” said SSP Phuyal. “It clearly indicates that policemen might have been involved in the jail break.”
The Phuyal committee that started its work on Friday has not interrogating all policemen,deployed for the jail security. “We´re inquiring with other inmates, too,” he said. “We will later find out whether our men are involved in the jail break. At this point, I can say that police´s negligence helped the inmates.”
On the other hand, the Koirala committee has stated that the negligence on the part of jail staff and police was primary reason for the incident. Koirala said that the jail staff and police, if found guilty, will be punished. “They may even lose their jobs,” he added.
According to Koirala, a circular was sent to all prison houses across the country, directing the jailers to remain on high alert as the inmates could attempt to escape the jail during festivals. “As for the jailor of the Jhumka prison, he was even warned (of the possibility of the jail break) over phone,” said Koirala.
According to Koirala, the inmates easily dug the tunnel as the noise caused by a furniture factory inside the prison house obscured the security personnel´ attention toward prisoner´s engagement.
The Phunyal Committee says that its directives to the Jhumka jail were simply ignored. The committee had directed the jail administration to remove a hut near the prisoners´ block, fell trees near the prison and ban play cards among the inmates, among others.
On Thursday night, twelve inmates, including one Bangladeshi and two Indians, escaped from the Jhumka jail in Sunsari district by digging a 80-foot tunnel. The escapees include Ali Asraf Ansari, Dhirendra Yadav, Bambam Yadav. While Dhirendra, assisted by Bambam, had masterminded the jailbreak, Ansari executed the plan.
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