This was published, edited, here.
Police suspect the involvement of a guard in the Chaibasa jailbreak by Maoists on Tuesday evening, when CCTV cameras, mobile jammers and warning sirens at the facility did not work.
Senior officers are yet to believe the jail guards' claim that the prisoners threw chili powder on them during the incident. None of the 15 who escaped have been apprehended; police officers admit in private they are not hopeful of catching most of them.
Sentries on the rooftop of the district jail in the heart of the town, about half a kilometre from the Superintendent of Police's office, had opened fire when a total of 20 prisoners attempted to flee at about 4.15 PM on Tuesday. They had been part of a group of 55 being returned from the district court after hearings. Two senior commanders of the CPI-Maoist's PLGA were killed while 15 others escaped; three others were involved in a scuffle with jail guards and were subdued after suffering minor injuries.
West Singhbhum district's Superintendent of Police Narendra Kumar Singh said Mochirai Munda, an ex-serviceman employed as a jail guard on a contractual basis, has been named in the First Information Report. "He has been named along with those who escaped as he was responsible for opening both the gates. He should have closed the main gate before opening the second. We will interrogate him to find out if it was intentional," said SP Singh.
The jail van, with 55 undertrials inside, reversed into the premises through the main gate. Munda, who held the keys to the main as well as a smaller entrance through which prisoners had to go on foot, left the main gate wide open. Thirty five prisoners had passed through the second gate when Ramvilas Tanti and Tipa Das, both platoon commanders and the seniormost among the 20 left, began attempting to snatch the guards' weapons.
Guards have since told their superiors that the prisoners threw chilli powder on their faces, but SP Singh said he had found no evidence to support their claim yet. As the prisoners ran out, police personnel who had escorted the van in two bullet-proof vehicles and an escort vehicle from the local police station fired in the air. After this, two sentries on top of the jail's roof shot at Das and Tanti, who were left behind as they had been trying to make away with the weapons. Both bodies were found between the main and second gates.
"We have given show-cause notices to 15 personnel, which includes the 10 who were in the three escort vehicles outside the jail. We want to find out why they were not able to apprehend the fleeing suspects," said SP Singh. Police have not yet come across any evidence that the prisoners had help on the outside. "I think they picked yesterday because the Mangala haat (weekly bazaar) sits on Tuesdays," said the SP. Once the fleeing men were among the crowd, they became one with it.
However, suspicion of help from inside lingers. "We are trying to find out how the siren that was sound in case of a jailbreak did not sound. We have to find out for how long the CCTV directed at the main gate and jammers have been inactive," said SP Singh. As the 20 outside made their escape attempt, the 35 who had gone through the second gate tried to get out, which raises doubts that there were a larger conspiracy afoot. The 35 could not get out as guards closed the gate immediately.
There will be a Magisterial inquiry into the shooting. The SP and the Deputy Commissioner of Chaibasa will prepare a joint report on the incident. Inspector General (Prisons) Shailendra Bhushan, who was at the Chaibasa jail on Wednesday, has been asked by Home Secretary N.N. Pandey to inquire into the incident. "I am currently talking to various individuals to get an understanding of what happened. No new information has surfaced yet," said Bhushan over phone.
For SP Singh, appointed this January, the loss is particularly difficult to digest. "We had made 45 Naxal arrests and topping the state in terms of arrests. It was so difficult to arrest them - Tipa Das was arrested in August from Cuttack when he went to be treated for an ailment - and now, all that is lost," said Singh.
For similar reasons, police officers admit it would be difficult to arrest most of those who escaped. "Johnson Ganjhu, who was an area commander and is the seniormost of those who escaped, was boycotted by his party. It will take him at least six months to regain their trust. That is a useful window for us," said an officer who did not want to be quoted for this story. As for the rest, police expect them to leave the district. "They will go to Delhi, Punjab and work as labourers. Almost all of them were low-level operatives like couriers and were charged with relatively minor offences. Unless someone surrenders, they will face even bigger sentences for this jailbreak," the officer continued, "These are guys who make a mistake only once."
The incident has also brought to light the need for video conferencing facilities inside the jail. There have been multiple cases of prisoners escaping or attempting to during court appearances. "The Chaibasa jail does not have it currently. Ideally, we should be able to present prisoners through VC after presenting them before a court only once," said the officer.
Chaibasa jail has witnessed a jailbreak by Maoists before, in 2011. All three who escaped that day remain at large - Sandeep has since grown to become one of the seniormost leaders of the party in the state.
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