The mystery surrounding the disappearance of a 23-year-old inmate from Ludhiana Central Jail has finally been solved. The accused, Rahul, who had vanished under mysterious circumstances, was nabbed from Darbhanga, Bihar on Monday — ending nearly a week of intense searches and sleepless nights for jail authorities.
A police team from Ludhiana reached Darbhanga on Tuesday to bring the accused back on transit remand, officials confirmed.
The incident has raised serious questions about security lapses inside Ludhiana Central Jail, where despite layers of surveillance and electrified fencing, an inmate managed to flee and travel over 1,400 kilometers before being caught. The jail administration has already suspended three officials for negligence after the incident.
Rahul, lodged in jail since 2024 in a theft case, was last seen on the evening of October 14, during the routine ‘bandi’—the process where inmates are sent back to their barracks. Jail officials said Rahul was noticed sitting in the wrong barrack and was told to return to his own. But by 9 pm, when the staff conducted a headcount, he had vanished without a trace.
The sudden disappearance threw the entire prison staff into turmoil. Believing he might still be inside the 90-acre jail complex, officials launched an exhaustive search operation that lasted for several days. Even a super suction machine was brought in to inspect open sewer lines after some covers were found displaced. “We searched every corner, from barracks to drains, but he was nowhere to be found,” said a senior jail official.
{{/usCountry}}The sudden disappearance threw the entire prison staff into turmoil. Believing he might still be inside the 90-acre jail complex, officials launched an exhaustive search operation that lasted for several days. Even a super suction machine was brought in to inspect open sewer lines after some covers were found displaced. “We searched every corner, from barracks to drains, but he was nowhere to be found,” said a senior jail official.
{{/usCountry}}Initially, jail authorities were confident Rahul couldn’t have escaped, given the 440 KV live wires installed along the boundary wall. However, after five days of fruitless searching, the authorities had to accept the grim reality — Rahul had indeed managed to give them the slip.
Additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP) City 4 Vaibhav Sehgal confirmed Rahul’s arrest from Bihar. “His family hails from Darbhanga, so our suspicion was that he might have fled there. We had alerted the Bihar police, and they successfully apprehended him. A Ludhiana police team is now bringing him back on transit remand,” The ADCP said.