Nagpur jailbreak: 17 officials transferred after CM visit

Seventeen personnel of the Nagpur central jail have been transferred across Maharashtra, after five men jailed for serious crimes escaped from the Nagpur central prison last month.

Seventeen personnel of the Nagpur central jail have been transferred across Maharashtra, after five men jailed for serious crimes escaped from the Nagpur central prison last month.

Sources said the officials were transferred because of their alleged links with the inmates.

The action against the officials came after a surprise visit by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday.

The jailbreak had shaken the state police machinery and exposed security lapses in a jail that houses some of the country’s most dreaded criminals.

The five criminals were allegedly able to escape from the high-security zone of the jail because of a nexus with jail authorities. Soon after the jailbreak, jail superintendent Vaivabh Kamble, and a policeman, Srikrishna Rahate, who was caught with marijuana, were suspended.

In the investigations that followed, more than 150 mobile sets were seized by authorities. A mobile phone was found from an inmate even on the day of Fadnavis’ visit this week.