Four of the six prisoners, who escaped from Jowai jail in Meghalaya’s Shillong on September 10, were lynched by a mob in Shangpung village of the West Jaintia Hills district on Sunday, the state government said.
The six inmates – five of whom are undertrials – escaped from Jowai jail around 1.30 pm on Saturday after overpowering a jailor and stabbing a guard, police officials told the Hindustan Times. Four prison staff and one police personnel were injured in the incident.
Around 3 pm on Sunday, one of the undertrials was identified by a group of men when he went to a tea shop, said R Rabon, chief of Shanpung village.
The villagers then chased the undertrials into a nearby forest and beat them with sticks, leading to the death of four prisoners.
The deceased have been identified as I love you Talang, Lodestar Tang, Shidorki Dkhar, and Marsanki Tariang. Two other prisoners – Ramesh Dkhar and Rikmenlang Lamare – escaped and their whereabouts are not known, according to the government.
Of the six, Tariang was convicted of murder, while the others were under trial.
“All the four dead bodies are presently kept at the morgue in Ilong’s civil hospital,” the government said. “The whereabouts of Dkhar and Lamare are still unknown and the police are on the lookout for them and on high alert.”
Meanwhile, Superintendent of Police of West Jaintia Hills BK Marak said that a case has been registered in the Jowai police station against the prison staff and five of them have been arrested after the inmates fled on Saturday, PTI reported. “Among the arrested prison staffers are one head warden and four wardens,” he added.
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