Bihar natives Raja Sahani and Madhukant Kumar, facing robbery-murder charges, cut cell grills and scaled 22-foot walls with blanket ropes during Dussehra laxity, evading guards and CCTVs since Thursday night.
Two warders suspended for negligence; probe eyes insider aid and tool sources after prior foiled escapes; first major Choudwar breach since 1999's 41-inmate flight.
Rs 50,000 reward spurs dog squad and police chase; echoes October 22 Soro sub-jail solo escape, fueling demands for prison overhauls amid festive vulnerabilities.
In Odisha's penal system, two undertrial prisoners from Bihar escaped from the high-security Choudwar Circle Jail late on Thursday night, taking advantage of Dussehra celebrations to scale a 22-foot boundary wall laced with concertina wire. The fugitives, identified as Raja Sahani and Madhukant Kumar (also referred to as Chandrakant in some reports), were arrested in January for the brutal robbery and double murder at Panikoili Panda Jewellery shop in Jajpur district, where they allegedly killed two employees.
The escape, the first from Choudwar since 1999's mass breakout of 41 inmates, was uncovered during Friday's morning roll call after the duo evaded 10 armed guards and a network of CCTVs undetected. Sources revealed that the prisoners, lodged in separate high-security cells since a July foiled dig attempt where saw blades were seized, cut through iron grills using improvised tools to create a 12-inch gap, then scaled an inner 12-foot wall before tackling the outer barrier with a blanket-tied rope and bamboo pole. The festive laxity—staff and inmates engaged in Durga Puja programs—provided the perfect cover, though officials insist no unusual activity was noted overnight.
Director General of Prisons Susanta Kumar Nath rushed to the site post-discovery, ordering suspensions for Chief Warder Bhagat Ram and Warder Siddhant Sahu on negligence charges, and launching a multi-agency probe led by Cuttack Range DIG Anasuya Jena to unearth how the escapees procured cutting implements and whether jail insiders or external accomplices aided them. A dog squad and commissionerate police manhunt is underway, bolstered by a Rs 50,000 reward for tips, amid concerns the duo—known repeat escape plotters—may flee to Bihar. The incident, coinciding with statewide festivities, has ignited public fury over prison reforms, echoing a recent single escape from Balasore's Soro sub-jail on October 22 where an undertrial fled using a blanket ladder.
As Odisha grapples with this embarrassment at its largest facility housing over 4,000 inmates, authorities vow stringent reforms, but critics decry chronic understaffing and outdated infrastructure as ticking bombs for more breaches.
