Patna: Altogether nine inmates of the state government-run shelter home for juveniles aged 16-18 years escaped under mysterious circumstances in Sheikhpura district, around 140km southeast of Patna, early on Tuesday.
The police said those who escaped from the shelter home - Place of Safety - were involved in heinous crimes such as rape and murder. While four of them belonged to Saran, two were from Buxar and one each from Gaya, Siwan and Bhojpur districts respectively.
The incident came to the fore when the some inmates were found to be absent during routine counting in the morning. The CCTV installed at the shelter home showed the nine inmates sleeping on the veranda of their wards till 1 am. What happened later is not known to the officials.
The officials recovered a piece of cloth which suggested that it was used by the escapees to flee after scaling the boundary wall of the building. As the news reached the district headquarters, district magistrate (DM) Yogendra Singh and superintendent of police (SP) Dayashankar visited the shelter home at Matokhar, around 6km west of Sheikhpura district headquarters town.
Pramod Kumar, assistant director of district child protection unit, expressed surprise over the manner in which the inmates escaped. He said details of the escapees such as photographs and domicile addresses have already been provided to the police so that they could be traced at the earliest.
An FIR has been lodged with the Sheikhpura town police station in connection with the incident. Four special auxiliary police personnel and an assistant sub-inspector of police were deployed at the shelter home. The keys were in the possession of the chaukidar Ashok Kumar.
Ashok, said to be a resident of Makdumpur in Sheikhpura town, was quizzed by police officials.
An investigating officer said the monitor of the CCTV was closed after 1am, which hinted at involvement of some insiders in the incident.
At present 23 inmates were lodged in the shelter home, which is monitored by officials of the social welfare department. Both senior officials - the DM and the SP - evaded questions from journalists while taking stock of the situation.
Sheikhpura sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Amit Sharan said raids were underway to trace the escapees. The borders of the district have been sealed and the police stations put on alert. Separate teams have been formed to conducted raids in Sheikhpura and its adjoining districts, he added.
Recently, a Patna high court judge, Justice Arvind Srivastava, visited the shelter home. Sources said he had expressed concern over security as it was situated in a remote area and far from the town.
Place of Safety, the only of its kind in the state, was made operational about six months ago.
Last month, a Muzaffarpur-based short stay home for girls hogged the limelight following allegations of sexual exploitation of some girl inmates. All the inmates were later shifted to Madhubani, Patna and Mokama where they were medically examined.
Most of the girls accused the office bearers of the non-government organization, which used to look after the inmates, of sexual assault. Altogether 10 persons are lodged in jail in connection with the incident.
