Nine inmates of observation home ‘start fire, escape’

Nine inmates of an observation home at northwest Delhi’s Kingsway Camp have escaped the facility, sources said.

Nine inmates of an observation home at northwest Delhi’s Kingsway Camp have escaped the facility, sources said.

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The inmates, all of them juveniles, are said to have resorted to violence to facilitate their escape, the sources added.

Police, however, denied the incident.

According to the Delhi Fire Services (DFS), a fire was reported at the facility around 6:30pm.

“We got a call about a fire at the facility and sent three tenders there. The facility’s inmates had apparently set fire to the bedding and quilts. It was doused in minutes,” a DFS official said.

According to a source, the nine juveniles set fire to the bedding in their quarters to divert the attention of the guards and authorities. In the ensuing commotion, the group made its escape.

“They had made it clear that they were unhappy with the authorities at an event at the facility on November 27. They were apparently looking for an opportunity to escape,” the source claimed.

P Karunakarn, deputy commissioner of police (northwest), however, denied that any such incident had taken place.