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17 juvenile undertrials flee observation home in Hisar
Eight of the juveniles were facing charges of murder, three attempt to murder, two were booked under the POCSO Act and four were facing other charges.
As many as 17 juvenile undertrials, eight of whom were booked for murder, on Monday managed to escape an observation home in Hisar on the Chandigarh road after attacking and injuring an on-duty guard.
A police official, on condition of anonymity, said the inmates fled from the observation home at around 6.40pm after thrashing the security guard deployed on the main gate of the premises.
“This seems to be pre-planned and we are investigating how many security personnel were deployed when the incident took place. A security guard, who was injured, has been admitted at a hospital in Hisar,” he added.
He said eight of the juveniles were facing charges of murder, three attempt to murder, two were booked under the POCSO Act and four were facing other charges.
“Eight of them hailed from Jhajjar district, two each from Rohtak, Hisar and Delhi and one each from Bhiwani, Dadri and Karnal. Eight of them are troublesome,” the official added.
Hisar superintendent of police Balwan Singh Rana said, “We have sealed all roads and directed police officials to arrest them. We are taking details from the superintendent of the observation home.”
Police officials said there has been negligence by the observation home as proper security measures were not followed.
In January 2017, six juveniles had escaped from the same observation home while an employee was opening barracks to provide water campers to inmates after dinner.
A senior functionary in Hisar administration, who is also associated with the observation home, said a team of the Juvenile Justice Board was scheduled to hold inspection on Tuesday. The inspection was deferred due to Covid-19 and some of the inmates had contracted the infection.
In March, there were 126 inmates in this observation home and some of them were given bail after they had tested positive, a source said. “The facilities are good at the observation home, which often remains crowded. A member of the district juvenile justice board will inspect the observation home on Tuesday,” a source said.
