Two Puzhal prison escapees held; 7 staff suspended

Two prisoners who escaped from Puzhal Central Prison on Tuesday and Wednesday were apprehended on Thursday. Seven assistant jailers, three from Puzhal-I and four from Puzhal-II, were suspended for alleged security lapses.

K. Sudip Bogati, 21, a Nepalese undertrial prisoner lodged at Puzhal-II, escaped on Tuesday morning. He obtained permission to visit the prison hospital for an ear ailment and headed towards the perimeter wall near a watchtower instead. He scaled the 23-foot-high wall using an earth wire running from the watchtower.

Rain had reportedly disrupted the solar-powered electric fencing, allowing him to cross without being electrocuted, prison sources said. He sustained a hip injury in the process. He escaped during a 10-minute watchtower shift change, when one guard was relieving another.

After escaping, he allegedly roamed around Padi and Anna Nagar and spent the night at a children’s park. Acting on a tip-off, a prison team found him at a tea shop near Thirumangalam around 7.30 a.m. on Thursday. Bogati had been in prison for two months in a theft case.

The second escapee, R. Suresh, 42, a POCSO convict lodged at Puzhal-I, fled around 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, while working at the prison-run bazaar. He allegedly slipped away while attending to customers. Suresh, who was convicted in 2024 and sentenced to 25 years in prison, was arrested at a barber shop in Kundrathur on Thursday.

Director-General of Police (Prisons) Sandeep Rai Rathore inspected the prison premises and the escape points following the incidents. He directed officials to strengthen security and CCTV surveillance.