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How an amputee rape convict Govindachamy escaped from high-security Kerala jail
Govindachamy, who does not have a left hand, was nabbed by the police hours later after a massive manhunt.
The Kannur Police on Friday went into a tizzy after it was informed of the escape of a rape and murder convict serving a life sentence in Kannur Central Jail.
Govindachamy, who had been serving a life sentence in the 2011 Soumya murder case, escaped from the high-security Kannur Central Jail in Kerala on Friday morning.
The convict, who does not have a left hand, was nabbed by the police hours later after a massive manhunt. According to news agency PTI, he was caught from near a derelict building at Thalap within the Kannur city limits.
How did he escape?
According to the police, Govindachamy's disappearance came to light during an inspection of his cell in the early hours of Friday.
Jail authorities launched an immediate search operation in and around the prison premises, but the inmate was nowhere to be found.
Kannur SP Nidhinraj P said that after CCTV camera was checked, it was found that Govindachamy escaped between 4.15am and 6.30am. Police were alerted and a manhunt was launched, reported PTI.
According to Nidhinraj, Govindachamy jumped from the prison's compound wall using a rope made from clothes.
Raj also said that police are investigating whether anyone from inside the jail helped him escape. “It is found that he was planning the escape for the last few days,” he added.
What is the case?
Govindachamy is serving a life sentence for the rape and murder of 23-year-old Soumya, who he had attacked while travelling on a passenger train from Ernakulam to Shoranur on February 1, 2011.
Soumya, who worked at a shopping mall in Kochi, was travelling in a ladies' coach on the Ernakulam-Shoranur passenger train when Govindachamy attacked her and pushed her off. He also jumped off the train and carried the injured woman to a wooded area near the track at Vallathol Nagar, where he raped her.
Soumya was found on tracks and succumbed to her injuries at the Government Medical College Hospital in Thrissur on February 6 of that year.
A fast-track court in 2012 sentenced the accused to death, considering him a habitual offender and noting that the brutal rape contributed to the victim’s death. The court stated that the nature of the crime was savage and had shocked society.
In 2016, the Supreme Court commuted Govindachamy's death sentence after dropping the murder charge against him. The top court, however, upheld the life term for raping the 23-year-old sales representative in Kerala.
