Only 25 of them were rearrested
KATHMANDU, March 12: Around 51 inmates serving terms for heinous crimes have escaped prison in the last 11 years, while only half of them were rearrested.
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“Shockingly they take the risk and escape knowing that they would have to serve longer terms if they are rearrested,” said Director at the Department of Prison Management Mohan Prasad Wagle.
Most of the criminals escaping jail were between the age of 20-35 years, a fertile period for any human being. They decided to escape due to frustration, he said, adding, “In the recent cases, the inmates escaped on the pretext of fulfilling their sexual desires, misleading the prison guards.
In the latest case involving Pasang Sherpa of Sundhupalchowk, who escaped on the pretext of meeting his wife to fulfill his sexual desire, police were found to be negligent. The prison guards allowed him the leeway and the inmate escaped, Wagle said. “So it is time to rethink the precautions that the prison guards should take while being kind to the inmates.”
Chinese national Ju Yang Kha, who was jailed for poaching, escaped from Patan Hospital in a similar fashion. He was taken to a woman Yang knew and escaped the custody of the guards deployed in his security. The three security personnel deployed in his security have faced two-year jail term each for the mistake, according to Chakrapani Gautam, jailor of Nakkhu jail.
Of the 74 prisons across the country, only about 20 prisons have their own vehicles to carry inmates from one place to another, while the rest of them hire vehicles, according to the department. Because of the shortage of vehicles and lack of hospital for treatment, the inmates in the Kathmandu Valley are taken to hospitals in taxis, giving them the leeway to escape custody.
Police Spokesperson DIG Kamal Singh Bam said, “We are determined to plug the loopholes and re-arrest those who have escaped custody.”
Currently, prison buildings are under construction in 15 different places. The prisons in Nepal currently house over 17,000 inmates. The number is double their capacity.
