National
Jailor, 4 guards suspended after undertrials escape

Panaji, Sept. 17 (PTI): A jailor and four guards were suspended after 14 undertrials escaped from a prison in Margao near here during a Ganesh Chaturthi function, police said today.

The police have, meanwhile, nabbed three undertrials while a search was on for the rest.

Taking advantage of the Ganesh festivities in the jail, all the 14 had made good their escape by assaulting four guards on Saturday night.

The incident occurred when the undertrials were brought to the jail lobby for prayers. The guards were distributing `prasad' when the prisoners attacked them and ran away from the main gate, police said.

They also locked four guards in the cell, police added.

Superintendent of Police (South) Shekhar Prabhudesai said they were informed about the incident only the next morning, leading to a delay in launching search operations.

Three of them were caught at Sanvordem railway station, 20 kms away from Margao. Sajjan Khan (Jaipur), Rajnesh Rai (Hubli) and Sameer Khan (Hyderabad) were being tried for petty offences, they said.

A statewide hunt has been launched for the remaining 11, including hardcore criminals like Rudolf Gomes and Jackson Dade (both wanted for murder), Shantaram Raikar (being tried for allegedly killing his new-born child) and Sunil Singh (chargesheeted for theft and robberies), police added.

National

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