Berhampur: Exposing poor security measures at the government-run facility, as many as six juvenile inmates fled from an observation home in Berhampur city of Ganjam district Monday.
According to a police source, the six minors escaped, from the special observation home meant for boys, in the wee hours between 2.00am to 3.00am after breaking open the windowpane of their room. The boys’ home functions under Berhampur Juvenile Justice Board (JJB).
Meanwhile, an FIR has been lodged at Baidyanathpur police station by the observation home authorities. Police have not ascertained the whereabouts of the six minor inmates yet, a senior official said.
“112 inmates were at the observation home. Children having conflict with the law are usually produced in JJB and subsequently sent to the government-run facility,” its superintendent P Ramesh Rao stated.
Also read: Andhra officials including Vizianagaram collector visit Deomali in Koraput, raise eyebrows
“When a guard on duty did not find the juveniles inside the room, he immediately contacted me and informed about the incident. Later, I lodged an FIR at Baidyanathpur police station this morning following which the cops launched a manhunt to trace them,” Rao added.
The six juvenile inmates include two from Koraput and one each from Ganjam, Puri and Gajapati districts, the superintendent informed.
Worthy to note, this is not the first time that such an incident was reported from the observation home. Twenty-seven inmates had earlier escaped in May 2020 after attacking the staff on duty at the facility with sharp-edged weapons and firewood. They had injured four staff including erstwhile superintendent Sanjay Kumar Mohanty.
Similarly, in another incident in May 2014, seven juvenile inmates had fled from the observation home after attacking a guard. While four of them were nabbed by police later, three others are absconding.
PNN