Karnataka saw second highest no. of jailbreaks in 2015

BENGALURU: From a serial killer scaling a 30-foot high prison wall to an undertrial escaping in a vegetable truck, files of the Karnataka prisons department contain enough jailbreaks that can make for compelling film scripts. According to data from the ministry of home affairs, Karnataka reported 10 escapes from prison in 2015, the second highest in the country. The maximum number — 13 — was recorded in Maharashtra. One of the smoothest prisonbreaks was witnessed in April 2015, when a murder convict slid out of Parappana Agrahara central jail. Manjunath, serving a life term for murder, chalked out a brilliant plan — he pretended to be on parole and walked out of the front door. He went to administrative office to apply for parole and managed to get a stamp, used by the jail authorities to identify visitors from prisoners, and changed his clothes. Using the stamp, he crossed the first gate. When the guard stopped him at the main gate, Manjunath shook his hands with joy, saying he was going out on parole. The guard bought his explanation and watched Manjunath exit the premises.Manjunath has not been arrested since. “Special teams were formed to nab him but we are short-staffed,” said a former central prison official.The escape of Jaishankar, a serial rapist-killer in 2013, raised several questions about security at prisons. Prisons authorities and the government promised a slew of measures to beef up security but the 2015 statistics tell a different tale. On August 31 this year, 21-year-old David, facing burglary charges, hid in a truck carrying vegetables exiting the central prison.A senior police officer blamed incompetency and corruption among jail staffers for the escapes. “If plans are not enforced effectively, they are no good. There are 102 jails in the state and lax security is a concern in many,” the officer added.Escapes are divided into three categories – from prison, police custody and outside jail (for example when prisoners are taken to court or on parole and don’t return). Of the 17 escapes in Karnataka during 2015, 10 (58%) were from prisons, said to be most secure places in the state. Karnataka stood eighth in overall escapes, 14 of the escapees are still on the run. With 53, Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number of overall escapes — four from prison, 43 from police custody and six from outside jail.