At least two undertrial prisoners were killed and three others were injured on Tuesday when the police opened fire on the Chaibasa jail inmates who made an attempt to run away. Fifteen inmates, including eight Maoists, however, managed to escape.
The incident took place while the prisoners, after being produced in the local court, were shifted back to the jail. All exit points in the district have been sealed and police have launched a manhunt to nab them.
According to police sources, one of the prisoners tried to run towards the main gate, pushing the jail staff away, following which the guards opened fire. "Two prisoners have been killed while three others got injured when the jail staff started firing on them while they were trying to flee from the jail," said Kolhan DIG Md. Nehal. According to the Police Headquarters, those who got killed have been identified as hardcore Maoists Tipa Das and Ramvilas Tanti, both hailing from Chotanagra.
The list of the injured Maoists includes the names of Sukhram Hesa Purti, Tarun Hibru and Karan Tanti.
According to the DIG, the police resorted to firing in an attempt to prevent the prisoners fleeing from the jail, leaving two of the prisoners dead while three others managed to escape from the spot. The police van was carrying 54 prisoners.
As soon as the prisoners were about to enter the second gate, one of the prisoners pushed the jail staff backwards and tried to run towards the main gate. The jail staff after recovering himself opened fire. The police official said, "The incident took place while the jail van, after leaving the prisoners, was getting out of the main gate."
DGP Rajeev Kumar has also confirmed that eight of the 15 prisoners who fled were Maoists while the other seven were general criminals.
Meanwhile, extensive search operations have been launched by the security forces in the area after sealing the district borders.
A high alert has been sounded at all jails situated across Jharkhand. "The profiles of the prisoners can be known only after verification. It is a mixed group involving Maoists and criminals," said Nehal.
Police have ruled out involvement of outside Maoists in the jailbreak because the van had safely come inside the jail campus before the incident.
Earlier, three hardcore Maoist rebels - Motilal Soren alias Sandeep, Raghunath Hembrom alias Nirbhay and Mangru Mahto alias Dhirendra - under trial for the slaughter of dozens of security personnel in Saranda, had escaped from Chaibasa Divisional Jail in January 2011.