Two inmates of the Puzhal central prison who were released “inadvertently” were located in Visakhapatnam district in Andhra Pradesh and brought back. Despite travel restrictions due to COVID-19, prison and police officials managed to zero in on the duo in a remote village.
According to police sources, the Narcotics Control Bureau had arrested S. Rama Siva and G. Vanthala Murali on charges of being in possession of 187 kg of ganja in Tiruvallur district in October.
They were booked under the provisions of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and lodged in Puzhal Central Prison-II.
The NCB opposed their bail application when it came in the Special Court for Essential Commodities and NDPS cases on May 4. Subsequently, the court rejected their plea for bail.
However, the prison authorities released the two thinking that they were granted bail. “It was a case of mistaken identity. The bail was actually granted to two other inmates. Jailer Gunasekar who let the inmates go realised his mistake only the next day,” a prison official said.
Director-General of Police (Prisons) Sunil Kumar Singh directed the jailer to locate the prisoners and take them into custody. Preliminary enquiry revealed that the accused were located at Chintapalli in Visakhapatnam district, the jail officials took the assistance of the local prison and police officials to track them down.
Since newcomers have to be quarantined for 14 days in view of the pandemic, the two prisoners were lodged in a sub-jail in Poonamallee. Mr. Singh has ordered a departmental enquiry into the inadvertent release of the suspects from prison, prison sources added.
