Eight inmates escape Nepal's Dolpa jail through 4-metre tunnel dug from septic tank

Eight prisoners have escaped from Dolpa District Jail in Nepal. The inmates dug a tunnel about 4 metres long from the side of a septic tank and got out. The incident has caused a stir across the country. Fifteen security personnel were posted at the jail, nearly one guard for every inmate, yet no one got wind of the escape.

The escape came to light at 5:45 am on October 31, when the routine count and search of inmates was under way. Jailer Dirgharaj R.C. said the previous night there had been heavy rain in the area, it was bitterly cold and the power had gone out. The prisoners took advantage of the darkness and the weather.

The inmates' sleeping quarters were directly connected to a septic tank. Exploiting this weak link, the prisoners quietly began digging at night. From the septic tank side they made a tunnel of about 4 metres under the wall to get out. Despite so much digging and removal of earth, nobody noticed anything, and people are angry at the administration's handling of the jail.

Dolpa District Jail has a capacity of 150, which can include 50 women and 100 men. At the time of the incident, however, only 17 inmates were held there, guarded by 15 armed security personnel, about one guard per inmate. Surprise is being expressed that eight prisoners still escaped.

Those who fled include people facing serious charges. Five were accused of rape and the other three had cases of theft registered against them. Some were undertrials who had arrived at the jail recently. Some had been sentenced by a court to terms of 1 to 12 years.

According to the list released by police, the escaped prisoners are: Kaliprasad Rokaya (29), Tripurasundari Municipality-7, Dolpa; Dhanbahadur alias Haribahadur Buda (28), Tripurasundari Municipality-4, Dolpa; Yagya Bika (25), Barekot Rural Municipality-1, Jajarkot; Dipendra Buda (28), Nalgad Municipality-9, Jajarkot; Tilak Bhandari (38), Athbiskot Municipality-5, Rukum West; Ram Bahadur Kami (32), Athbiskot Municipality-10, Rukum West; Nishan alias Adesh Bhandari (32), Rukum West; and Ganesh Buda (28), Kumakh Rural Municipality-5, Salyan.

Jailer Dirgharaj R.C. told the media, "During the morning search we found out that they had escaped. The prisoners misused the joint between their sleeping quarters and the septic tank." He also said the jail's guard post was about 20 to 21 feet high. Because of the rain and darkness at night, the guards on the post could not see anything below.

Nine prisoners remain in the jail and are being questioned closely. Meanwhile, the Nepal administration has launched a major operation to trace the eight escapees. Police teams have been deployed in areas along the border and in neighbouring districts. A high-level inquiry into how such a serious security lapse occurred is likely to be ordered.