Shillong, Nov. 15: The judicial inquiry commission probing the Shillong jailbreak was given an extension of six months to complete the inquiry, after the recovery of a bullet and nine fragments of bullets from the exhumed body of Full Moon Dhar, the mastermind of the escape.

The extension of the time was also necessitated following allegations by the Steering Committee Against Murder of Democracy (SCAMoD) during the hearing of the commission on Saturday that the file notings related to the appointment of new Meghalaya DGP during the jailbreak have been tampered with.

The commission of inquiry had asked the secretary to the commission, C. Dkhar, to find out who was behind the tampering of the file notings.

According to a notification issued today, the political department said the government had extended the time for submission of final report by the commission of inquiry for another six months with effect from November 18.

It was on August 18 that the state government had appointed a second commission of inquiry, led by Justice (retd) S.P. Rajkhowa, to probe the infamous Shillong jail break of May 31 last year within three months.

The first inquiry commission, led by retired judge Justice D. Biswas, was appointed in October last year, but he left the inquiry mid-way after being appointed as Up-Lokayukta in Assam on April 20.

The new inquiry commission started the probe from the findings of the previous one.

Despite the departmental, administrative and police inquiries, the state government was compelled to initiate the judicial inquiry into the jailbreak after it had exposed allegations of a politician-criminal nexus. The manner of Full Moon’s death had also triggered allegations of fake encounter.

The suspicion was strengthened after the recaptured undertrial prisoners who were with Dhar confessed that he was killed in a fake encounter.

The jailbreak issue turned murkier after the recaptured undertrial prisoners also named some politicians who had allegedly assisted Dhar to effect the jailbreak.

After these allegations surfaced, the terms of reference of the judicial inquiry commission included the reason behind the jailbreak incident, the circumstances which led to the death of Dhar, circumstances which led to the arrest and the subsequent release of Congress politician Thomas Nongtdu, an accused in the Shillong jailbreak, the extent of politician-criminal nexus on the jailbreak episode and other related matters on the issue.