4 youths flee remand home in Pollachi

COIMBATORE: Four inmates of a remand home at Pollachi near here made a hole in the wall of their cell and escaped on Friday night. However, the police nabbed two youths, one of them a murder accused from Darjeeling, from Namakkal on Saturday.
The inmates of Borstal home, where young offenders in the 18-21 age group are lodged, used an iron rod to break a portion of the wall of their cell and slipped out around midnight.
The wardens on duty did not see the youths escape. But shortly after 1am, one of the wardens noticed the hole and informed the police.
Police said S Syed Ibrahim (21) of Dharapuram in Tirupur district, S Satheesh (21) and R Selvam (19) of Salem faced charges of burglary and theft and R Komal Dirky (20) from Darjeeling was accused of murdering a textile mill owner in 2009. They were all housed in the same cell. Located near the new bus terminal at Pollachi, the Borstal home houses 61 youths.
Just on the lines of the English film classic, The Great Escape, the four undertrials came up with a plan to slip out of the home. They kept wetting the old wall of their cell with water from the toilet for over the last one week. And with an iron rod, they kept pounding the wall, which gave in after repeated knocks. They then slipped out of the hole, scaled the compound wall and jumped on to a passing lorry and escaped, the police said.
The three wardens on patrol duty did not see the youths escape. But shortly after 1am, one of the wardens noticed the hole in the wall and informed the police. An alert was issued and trains and buses leaving Pollachi, Coimbatore and Tirupur were searched. “We were worried that the accused may rob or murder someone for gain in their attempt to leave the area,” a police officer said.
The lorry carrying the four fugitives was headed for Namakkal in the neighbouring district. With the police hot on their heels, the youths decided to split. The Namakkal police managed to arrest Komal and Satheesh, while Syed and Selvam are absconding. “We have arrested two accused. We are hunting for the absconders,” said superintendent of police N Kannan.
Meanwhile, the prison department has initiated action against three wardens. “We have suspended three wardens,” said DIG P Govindarajan, Coimbatore central prison.