Loopholes that let Govindachamy break jail

Govindachamy, who is serving a life sentence for robbing a young woman in a women's coach of a moving train, pushing her out, and raping her to death, escaped the Kannur Central Jail on the 25th and was caught after a four-hour search. The incident shocked the whole of Kerala. Govindachamy thus came back into the news at a time when people had almost forgotten about the brutal sexual assault and murder committed in 2011. How a criminal who poses a serious security threat managed to cross a few major hurdles of the Central Jail, which is supposed to have high security, in the small hours of night and enter the free world without anyone noticing is a question that needs to be answered. The accused had been convicted of breaking into houses by five courts in Tamil Nadu and Kerala before he was caught for raping and murdering Soumya. Such a person should spend his life in a prison with impeccable security. Subsequent investigation revealed that this was not the case for many reasons.

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This convict escaped by cutting the iron bars of the cell door and using a wool blanket to jump over the wall and disguise himself as a prison guard after changing the jail dress. In the preliminary investigation conducted after the criminal was caught hiding in a well, four prison officials have already been suspended for dereliction of duty. Subsequently, the facts revealed in the detailed investigation by the Northern Region Prison DIG are very serious. Prison is primarily a denial of liberty as prescribed by law. That is why the courts are cautious about keeping a person in preventive detention for a long time before the charges are proven and are scrupulous in granting bail to the accused. However, a person who is found guilty and convicted cannot be released for a specified period. Punishment is also a lesson for the criminals and society about the consequences of committing a crime. Beyond this, an opportunity should be provided for the criminal himself to repent and correct himself. The entire prison system, rules, and regulations are meant to ensure all of this.

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DIG V. Vijayakumar, in his report submitted to Director General of Prisons Balaram Kumar Upadhyay, explains that there are many shortcomings in the prison system - beyond the already alleged hyper-politicization. In the jailbreak of Govindachamy, negligence and mismanagement are also evident. There has been a major lapse in security, including the subsequent leakage of CCTV footage. The shortcomings are all too visible in the close monitoring of prisoners, the appointment of staff, and the basic facilities in the prison. Many are at the system level itself. The government mostly falls short of allocating sufficient funds and providing the necessary facilities. It does not take much effort for the inmates to remove rusty bolts. An adequate number of officers is needed to monitor the behaviour of the inmates and be vigilant. However, in Kannur, where 150 employees are required, there are only 106 at present. The issue of the barbed wire fences that should be on the security wall and their electrification is also pitiful. Many of the CCTV cameras inside and outside the prison are reportedly not working to see if anything has happened. If they had been working properly and officers had been assigned to look after them, Govindachamy's escape could have been prevented.

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As for the jail security equipment, If maintenance contracts are not arranged to ensure that they are repaired in time, the cables will only help the criminals escape instead of getting electrocuted. In the matter of funding, where the budget proposed was Rs 100 crore for reforms, only Rs 20 crore was allocated. Even half of that was cut due to financial constraints. The problem starts when the number of prison officers decreases and the number of inmates increases. There are 1200 inmates, accommodated in the space for 943 inmates. In Block No. 10, which is a high security cell, 100 inmates are now housed instead of the designed 66. Based on the DIG report, more punitive measures may be taken. It is fair to subject those who have defaulted to punitive measures. Along with that, the question remains as to what to do with the officials at the administrative headquarters who are failing to provide the necessary facilities for proper prison administration, and the political leadership that should resolve the financial crisis by following appropriate priorities.

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