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Six hours after the dramatic escape of Govindachamy, also known as Charley Thomas, from Kannur Central Jail, the police arrested him near Talap in Kannur town around 10.15 am on Friday, July 25.
Govindachamy was found hiding in the well of an abandoned house in Talap, which is around 3 km from the Kannur jail. They were alerted by local residents, and some witnesses told the media they recognised him from news reports about the jailbreak and saw him jumping off a wall and running through the area.
Govindachamy, who was serving a life sentence for the rape and murder of a 23-year-old woman, had escaped from the high-security Kannur Central Jail in the early hours of Friday, July 25. Police said the jailbreak occurred between 4.15 am and 6.30 am. At the time of his escape, he was wearing a white shirt and black pants and had a beard, according to Kannur Police Commissioner Nidhin Raj. CCTV footage captured him calmly walking along a busy road, dressed in a white shirt and black pants. He was carrying a pile of clothes on his head, seemingly to conceal his disabled left hand.
Following his escape, police launched a massive search operation across Kerala, intensifying checks at railway stations and bus terminals while examining CCTV footage from areas around the jail. Additional police teams were deployed in and around Kannur town early in the morning to track down the fugitive.
Director General of Police (Prisons) Balram Kumar Upadhyay told the media that the Deputy Inspector General of Police has begun an investigation into the circumstances behind the escape.
The crime against the 23-year-old woman had shocked Kerala. The victim was a saleswoman from Thrissur. On February 1, 2011, she was travelling in the ladies’ compartment of the Ernakulam-Shoranur passenger train when Govindachamy – who was known to frequent trains to beg and had only one arm – entered the compartment, attacked her, and robbed her.
The victim was found lying unconscious and critically injured in a forested area near Vallathol railway station. She succumbed to her injuries five days later at the Thrissur Government Medical College. According to the prosecution, Govindachamy pushed her off the moving train, dragged her into the woods, and raped and murdered her.
In October 2011, a fast-track court in Thrissur convicted him of both rape and murder and awarded him the death penalty. While the Kerala High Court upheld the sentence, the Supreme Court commuted it to life imprisonment. The apex court held that the evidence to prove the young woman had been pushed off the train was inconclusive.
Govindachamy had been lodged in Kannur Central Jail ever since.