Policemen take positions on the court premises in Hazaribagh. Picture by Vishvendu Jaipuriar

Hazaribagh, April 26: As many as 19 undertrial prisoners escaped when armed criminals stormed the district and sessions court here this afternoon.

Five policemen were injured when a gang of eight walked into the court compound around 1.30 pm, hurled bombs and opened fire as the undertrials, all lodged in the Jayaprakash Narayan Central Jail, were about to get onto a prison van parked in front of the lock-up.

The lock-up is situated behind the main building of the district court, which is located opposite the district collectorate that houses the offices of the deputy commissioner and police superintendent.

The whole operation was executed with clinical precision, leaving the policemen with little time to react.

Ram Badan Singh, a policeman standing at the entrance to the lock-up, said the criminals came from both directions. As soon as they reached the entrance, they hurled a bomb.

At that time, a policeman, Kamal Nayan Sharma, was taking a headcount of the undertrials before putting them on the prison van. ?Suddenly, there was a blast and there was panic all around,? Singh said. ?The entire area was covered with smoke. We could not see anything,? said Badesh Upadhaya, another constable on duty.

Five policemen, including Upadhaya, standing close by were wounded in the explosion. Singh fired from his rifle but he was the lone jawan to counter the criminals.

Taking advantage of the chaos, the prisoners, those inside the van as well as those in the lock-up, made a dash to freedom.

Two of the injured policemen took up position and started firing, hitting one of the prisoners, Surendra Rajak, in the hand.

Another undertrial, Moti Ram Mahto, was caught by a youth near the deputy commissioner?s office.

Eyewitnesses said all the 19 prisoners fanned out in different directions, getting into cars and two-wheelers waiting for them.

A total of 113 undertrial prisoners had been brought to the court. Two others who had surrendered joined them, taking the number up to 115. After they were produced before the judge, 72 were sent back in two shifts, while 43 were waiting for their turn.

Superintendent of police Ashish Batra said the prisoners who fled were being tried for crimes ranging from murder to extortion and rape. He said none of the Kashmir terrorists lodged in the jail was part of the group that escaped.

The daring raid indicates that the criminals had chalked out the plan after several meetings with the undertrials.

Sources said access to the lock-up could be bought for a fee: Rs 40 to meet relatives outside the gate, Rs 60 to take in food and Rs 200 to stay there until the inmate was being sent back to jail.

The appalling condition of the lock-up was highlighted in a report of the former officer-in-charge of Sadar police station, Naresh Sharma, to then Hazaribagh police chief Anurag Gupta.

He had suggested several steps to strengthen security at the lock-up. But no action was taken.

Seventeen of the undertrials who escaped were identified as Md. Arshad, Kishori Prasad, Umesh Kumar, Manoj of Gumla, Buddhan Rajak, Heeralal Choudhary, Chandra Prakash Sinha, Dharmnath, Charka Yadav, Krishna Kumar Sao, Amrendra Kumar, Teko Ram, Md. Jala Ansari, Manoj Kumar, Bal Mukund, Vijay Bhuyian and Gopal Bhuiyan and two others.