A 42-year-old man lodged in the Mangaluru District Prison and awaiting trial in a rape case has broken out by jumping the compound wall of the high security prison, in broad daylight. The incident came to light after the prison officials checked CCTV footage, when Jinnappa did not answer the roll call on Friday.
“At around 3.30 pm on Friday, Jinnappa was allowed inside the kitchen as he was on cooking duty that day. He found a snag in the gas stove and came out to check the connection. The security personnel there were asleep which made it easy for Jinnappa to move towards the old prison compound wall,” police said.
“At around 4.30 pm, the prison authorities conducted a roll call and found Jinnappa missing and after inspecting the CCTV footage, it was revealed that he had escaped,” the jail superintendent Krishna Murthy said.
According to Krishna Murthy, CCTV footage shows Jinnappa moving from the kitchen compound to the old prison compound wall. Jinnappa then climbed the wall and jumped outside the prison.
Jinnappa is a resident of Gardadi village located in Belthangady taluk. He was under trial in a rape case from August 2015, filed in the Uppinangady Police Station, in Puttur taluk of Dakshina Kannada district.
“Jinnappa was working as an agricultural labourer in Patrame village where the survivor is also from. Since the village is very small, they were acquaintances. Jinnappa was booked under section 376 and 506 of IPC,” said Kulkarni, the investigating officer in Jinnappa’s case.
Soon after the rape complaint was filed, the Uppinangady Police nabbed the 42-year-old, who was booked for rape, Mangaluru Police Commissioner said.
He was refused bail and remanded to judicial custody. Jinnappa entered the Mangaluru District Prison in the same month, and was awaiting trial. Two years on, the trial did not conclude and on Friday evening, he escaped the high-security Mangaluru prison.
According to Mangaluru Jail Superintendent Krishna Murthy, Jinnappa was also accused of using ganja and mobile phone inside the prison.
This isn’t the first security lapse at the Mangaluru prison. In 2015, security was beefed up in the jail following a double murder on the premises.