Srinagar: Two rape accused, who had escaped from the Central Jail in J&K’s Srinagar, were arrested in Rajasthan on Wednesday, officials said.
Officials said two accused, Farman Khan and Mukhtar Gujjar, were arrested following a tip-off from Srinagar Police. Further investigation is underway.
The two, booked in separate cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, escaped from the Srinagar jail on August 23, after scaling the front-side wall of the high-security prison, officials said.
While Khan is a resident of Sadanpora, Rajasthan, Gujjar is a resident of Sanglan Chittergul in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, officials said.
A massive manhunt was launched to trace and apprehend the escaped inmates, they said, adding that further details regarding the circumstances of their escape from the jail were awaited.
The jail is guarded by personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) who were deployed to provide armed cover to the facility in October 2023 along with the Central Jail in Jammu.
The force is responsible for securing both the inner and outer perimeters of these sensitive facilities through a combination of trained manpower, modern surveillance systems, and access control measures.
According to the officials, Khan was lodged in the Srinagar jail on June 23 in connection with an FIR registered against him at Lar police station in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ganderbal district under various sections of the BNS and sections 3 and 4 (penetrative sexual assault) of the POCSO Act.
Similarly, Gujar was lodged in jail on April 13 in connection with a separate FIR registered at Srinagar’s Soura police station under various sections of the BNS and sections 3 and 4 of the POCSO Act, they said.
The police had issued a wanted notice for the two escapees and also announced a reward for information leading to their arrest.
The police had also urged the public to share any information that could help trace or apprehend the two men by contacting the nearest police station or dialling 112.
(IANS)
