Among the prisoners who escaped on 24 Bhadra were 500 Indians and more than 100 from third countries.
What you should know
The 4,542 prisoners who escaped from various prisons and correctional facilities on the occasion of the 24 Bhadra protests have not yet been arrested. More than 600 of the escapees are foreign nationals.
According to the Police Headquarters, on 24 Bhadra, 14,555 prisoners and detainees, including those in prisons, detention/reform homes and those under investigation, escaped by breaking into prisons and detention cells.
According to the police, only 10,013 of the absconders have been arrested so far. After the absconders did not return, the Prison Management Department made their details public on 26 Asoj and appealed for cooperation in the search.
After thousands of prisoners and detainees who were convicted of various crimes and serving their sentences, who were in jails under court orders and who were in police custody during investigation, were not arrested, the Ministry of Home Affairs had issued a circular on 10 Asoj to all 77 district administrations to launch a 'Campaign to Arrest Escaped Prisoners'.
The Home Ministry had directed all 77 district administrations to form 'Escaped Prisoners Search and Arrest Task Force' in all districts, coordinated by the Assistant Chief District Officer of the concerned district, with representatives from security and other agencies.
After that, the district administration formed a task force and launched a secret campaign to arrest the escaped prisoners. In the process, 1,974 people have been arrested. Of the 4,500 absconding prisoners, at least 500 are Indian citizens and more than 100 are from third countries.
Anand Kafle, spokesperson for the Ministry of Home Affairs, said that a campaign has been launched across the country to control the escaped prisoners and looted weapons. ‘Security agencies are taking this seriously,’ he said, ‘The issue of prisoners and arms control has also been included as an indicator of the evaluation of employees working in the mechanism under the Ministry of Home Affairs and security agencies.’
As the protests intensified on 24 Bhadra, 28 prisons including the Central Prison, Nakkhu Prison, Banke, Rautahat, Sindhuli, Chitwan, Makawanpur, Kapilvastu, Kaski, Tanahun, Kailali, Kanchanpur, Nawalparasi, Sunsari, Dang, Mahottari, and 9 juvenile correctional homes were vandalized and set on fire, and 14,555 prisoners and detainees escaped.
During the protests on 23 and 24 Bhadra, 76 people, including 3 policemen and 10 prisoners, were killed, and more than 1,200 police weapons and about 100,000 rounds of ammunition were looted. Police have stated that about 300 weapons have not yet been brought under control. The police's own internal report mentions that the security risk has arisen from the looted weapons and the escaped prisoners.
According to the police, the absconding Nepali and foreign nationals are involved in crimes including rape, drugs, gold smuggling, human trafficking, kidnapping and hostage-taking, robbery, murder (duty killing), theft, revenue leakage, and foreign currency smuggling. Police officials claim that the absconding Indian national has reached India by land.
Similarly, the police have also sought the help of Interpol to assist in the search for the absconding foreign prisoners. Details have also been sent to the embassies and diplomatic missions of various countries in Nepal according to the nationality of the prisoners.
The issue of searching for the absconding prisoners was also raised in the meeting of the border security chiefs of the two countries held in the Indian capital Delhi on October 26. The issue of searching for prisoners who escaped from prisons during the Gen-G movement was brought up in a bilateral border meeting involving Nepal's Armed Police Inspector General Raju Aryal and Indian Border Security Force (SSB) Director General Sanjay Singhal. Armed Police Inspector General Aryal had said that many people who escaped from Nepal's prisons and jails have entered India and sought Indian help in controlling them.
Escaped prisoners have also been pointed out as a security challenge in the House of Representatives elections scheduled for 21 Falgun. The police have also pointed out that they can cause other crimes in the society.
Identifying escapees and looted weapons as the main challenges, security officials have been raising this issue in meetings of the National Security Council, Central Security Committee, internal meetings of security agencies, provincial security seminars, district security committees and other mechanisms. The police have also raised this issue with the Home Ministry, saying that "gangs can create armed groups in the country under the guise of lost weapons/ammunition and escaped prisoners."
