Madhya Pradesh: Police issues orders to shoot anyone attempting jailbreak

After increasing instances of jailbreak in Madhya Pradesh, police authorities on Tuesday have issued an order to shoot anyone trying to escape from prison.

Madhya Pradesh Jailbreak: 2 inmates escape Morena Jail; 4 policemen suspended

"The Jail Department has issued orders, to take effect immediately, that prisoners/undertrials found attempting to break open a prison door or wall or attempting to scale the jails' outer walls will henceforth be shot," said Gajiram Meena Additional Director General of Police (Jails).

He also added that officers of the rank of Jail Superintendent can decide on giving orders to shoot the fleeing prisoners.

Meena had earlier announced setting up of a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the escape of two undertrial inmates — 36-year-old Omprakash Jat (accused of murder) and 26-year-old Anil Rathore (accused in a rape case) from a jail in Morena, MP.

While a probe team comprising—Gwalior Jail Superintendent Narendra Pratap Singh, Ujjain Jail Superintendent Sunil Sharma and Sub-Divisional Magistrate Pradeep Singh Tomar has ben set up, the four wardens—Dattaram, Ramavtar, Brijendra Singh and Phool Singh who were on duty when the jailbreak took place in the wee hours of Monday has been suspended.

Incidentally, on October 31, 2016, eight members of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) had escaped from the Bhopal Central Jail. A few hours later the escaped-eight were shot down in a police encounter. They had killed a security guard before escaping.

But this was not the beginning, On October 1, 2013, six SIMI men and another prisoner had escaped from the Khandwa district jail by scaling a 20-feet high boundary wall with the help of bed sheets used as a rope.