Bhubaneswar: A total of 44 prisoners, including 33 under-trial inmates and 11 convicts, have escaped from various jails across Odisha over the past five years, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi informed the state assembly on Monday. While 27 escapees have been recaptured, 17 remain at large, he added.
In a written reply to a question by Congress leader and Barabati-Cuttack MLA Sofia Firdous, the Chief Minister said that disciplinary and legal action has been taken against jail officials and security personnel found responsible for the lapses that led to these escapes.
The escapees include both under-trial prisoners, awaiting trial, and convicts serving sentences. Majhi noted that the state government has been implementing stringent measures to strengthen jail security and prevent such incidents in the future.
Of the total 44 prisoners who escaped, coordinated efforts by police and prison authorities have helped recapture 27, but 17 are still on the run.
