Bollywood-style jailbreak, but script failed: Shajapur inmate rats out fugitive after helping him escape

UJJAIN: It had all the makings of a Bollywood thriller — a prisoner who spent ten days studying guard movements, a daring wall-climb using improvised tools, a long run across state lines. However, the script failed at the finishing line, as the fugitive's luck eventually ran out and he was nabbed hundreds of kilometres away, in neighbouring Chhattisgarh.

The escapee is now back behind bars. Jeevan alias Jayram, son of Mohanlal, a resident of Maksi Nai Aabadi, broke out of Shajapur district jail at around noon on March 15. However, his taste of freedom was short-lived as he was nabbed by a team from Indore's Lal Ghati police station, which was hot on his trail and eventually brought him back to custody.

The inmate was lodged in the Shajapur district jail for about four months before he made his audacious bid for freedom.

This was no impulsive escape. Shajapur Jail Superintendent Dushyant Pagare told TOI that Jeevan and another inmate had been watching the guards' movements for ten days before the former jumped jail on March 15. The spot Jeevan chose was not accidental either. The 20-foot wall he targeted sits next to the kitchen and bathrooms — an area where guards regularly take prisoners for work. Every evening, the guards close the gates and escort inmates out for a roll call. That routine, observed carefully over ten days, became the blueprint for the escape.

On the day of the breakout, the two inmates hid in the kitchen. They came prepared — securing a wire and a strong stick, which they used to tie around a hook that was dug into the wall at a height of 15 feet, originally installed to hold halogen lights. With this makeshift apparatus in place, Jeevan stood on the shoulders of his fellow inmate and used the rigging to haul himself over the wall.

The second inmate, whose name has been withheld, quickly found that he could not replicate the feat without anyone to support him from below. Left with no option, he raised an alarm. By then, Jeevan was already on the other side. But the fall came at a cost. Jeevan himself disclosed after his arrest that he sustained an injury to his leg when he jumped off the wall. However, despite the injury, he did not stop. He began hitching rides in different vehicles before eventually catching a train to Amarkantak. From there, he made his way to Durg in Chhattisgarh.

Back in Shajapur, the jail administration and the police department swung into action the moment the escape was discovered. A special team was formed to track then down.



The investigation gradually pointed towards Chhattisgarh. Central Jail Bhairugarh circle superintendent Manoj Sahu confirmed that the prisoner was hiding at his brother-in-law's place in Chhattisgarh. Armed with this information, a Shajapur police team travelled to Chhattisgarh and nabbed the accused in what officials described as a filmy-style raid. Jeevan was then brought back to Shajapur under tight security.