‘299 inmates including 90 Maoists escape from Chhattisgarh jail’
By Sujeet Kumar, IANS
Raipur : It is hard to believe but just two policemen were on duty Sunday evening for guarding a jail in Dantewada, India’s worst Maoist-violence hit district in Chhattisgarh, that had 377 prisoners included 90 Maoists.
At around 5 p.m., Maoists took just 10 minutes to overpower both constables and then shot them by their rifles and then it was a free run for the inmates.
The wounded constables had no option but to wait for 45 minutes to see 299 inmates walk away from the jail – among them, 90 Maoists including 15 hardcore rebels. Then the duo raised an alarm.
The escaping Maoists also took away several rifles from the jail’s armoury.
One jail inmate was injured in the Maoist firing.
The reinforcement took 35 minutes in reaching the prison and by then all Maoists had reached the outskirts of Dantewada town, 388 km south of state capital Raipur, where dozens of fellow rebels received them, and then they all sneaked into thick forests where they run a parallel government of sorts.
A Dantewada jail official informed the red-faced top brass at the police headquarters here late evening: “We had just two men to guard hundreds. How can you hold us responsible? A majority of the jail staff was busy with Sunday’s family engagements.”
“It’s a complete joke with the entire police set-up that two low-ranked cops were asked to guard the jail that is most vulnerable to a Maoist attack. It’s the biggest ever embarrassment for the state government as well as the police department,” a top official posted at the police headquarters told IANS.
“It was a well-planned move of the Maoist inmates, but even they probably could not have expected such a smooth passage, without any resistance. Dozens of Maoists came on the outskirts of Dantewada from their hideouts to receive their associates,” added the official, who did not want to be named.
The state’s Home Minister Ramvichar Netam told reporters: “Obviously, the Dantewada jail break is a security failure. The government will deal with the issue strongly.”