More than three hundred prisoners, mostly naxalites, escaped from Dantewara district jail in India today after prison guards were overpowered in a planned action in which three guards and two undertrials were injured during firing and clashes.
The incident occured around 4.35 PM when the inmates were being served food after a lone naxalite commandar Sujit Kumar overpowered a jail guard inside the prison and snatched his weapon.
Kumar then fired and injured three other guards, Dantewada jail sources told the news agency over phone.
As many as 377 inmates are in the district prison, about 375 km from the state capital, which is located in a naxal infested area.
The naxals snatched six rifles of the guards and one wireless set belonging before they fled.
Rahul Sharma, Superintendent of Police, Dantewada said the jail break was a "pre-medidated conspiracy" hatched by the undertrials who were mostly naxal supporters.
A search operation has been launched
"It happened around 4.35 pm during the time when they were having food. Out of 377, 299 escaped and three jawans were injured.
Two sympathisers were also injured in the fire," Sharma said.
"We have launched a massive search operation and shifted the injured to the hospital," he said.
"There was firing for about 15-20 minutes in which two supporters were injured and the rest managed to escape," The SP said.
On whether there was a security lapse, he said "guards were there, they fought back but since the incident has happened, we have to admit that".
Officials said the jails was having 105 inmates, who were put behind the bars with the banned naxal outfit CPI (Maoists) and one of them overpowered a prison guard and fired fired shots from his weapon injuring two guards and an inmate. - DDNEWS
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