Two undertrials scale 23-ft wall to escape from jail in Chhattisgarh

Two undertrial prisoners, one accused of murder and the other facing rape charge, scaled a 23-feet wall and escaped from Jashpur district jail in Chhattisgarh, police said on Tuesday.

The duo jumped off the jail boundary wall on Monday morning and fled, they said.

Kapil Bhagat, who was in the jail for allegedly raping a minor girl last year, escaped along with Lalit Ram, a murder accused, Jashpur Additional Superintendent of Police Umesh Kashyap said, adding that efforts were on to trace them.

Jashpur Jail Superintendent Manish Sambhakar said the duo escaped by jumping off the jail boundary wall when preparation was underway to cook food for jail inmates on Monday morning.

A case has been registered against them at Jashpur police station and steps are being taken to enhance the jail security, he said.

The rape case against Bhagat, a resident of Sogda village in Jashpur, was pending before a fast track court here, Kashyap said.

The trial of Ram, a native of Tumla area, was underway in the court of Kunkuri Additional District Judge, he said.