Two inmates escaped from Chennai’s Puzhal Central Prison in incidents reported within 24 hours, prompting prison authorities and police to launch a search operation across Puzhal and north Chennai.
The escaped prisoners have been identified as Sujith Buhari, a 21-year-old Nepali undertrial prisoner, and Suresh, a convict serving a sentence in a POCSO case, according to a report by DT Next. Prison authorities filed complaints with Puzhal police on Wednesday after both inmates were reported missing.
Buhari had been lodged in the remand prison block for about two months. According to prison sources cited in the report, he was allowed to work with other inmates in the block and later sought permission from a prison official to visit the hospital. He subsequently went missing. Prison warders noticed his absence during the evening muster.
A search operation was conducted across the prison campus, but Buhari could not be traced. Police suspect that he may have scaled the prison wall, although prison sources said that possibility appeared unlikely. Authorities are questioning other inmates to determine whether he had discussed or planned an escape.
The second inmate, identified as Suresh, was lodged in the convict prison and had been assigned duties at a petrol bunk operated by the prison. He is believed to have escaped while attending to customers outside the prison premises, using the surrounding crowd as cover, according to the report.
The incidents occurred within the prison’s existing system of controlled inmate movement. Prison sources said inmates are allowed out of their cells from 6 am and can move within designated areas. Buhari was reportedly sweeping the block with other prisoners when he sought permission to leave, while Suresh was outside the main prison complex as part of his assigned work.
More than a dozen special police teams have been formed to trace the two men. Police teams are contacting the prisoners’ family members and known associates to gather information about their movements and possible getaway plans.
Police have also begun monitoring checkposts, bus termini and exit points in and around Puzhal and north Chennai. The searches are being conducted as authorities investigate how the two inmates were able to leave separate prison-controlled locations and remain untraced after their absence was detected.
