CHENNAI: Two inmates — a Nepalese undertrial and a convict serving a sentence in a Pocso case — escaped from the Central Prison at Puzhal here, raising concerns about jail security in Tamil Nadu. Both are unrelated separate incidents that occurred within a span of 24 hours.While the undertrial, K Sujith Buhari, 21, from Nepal, is suspected to have scaled a 23-foot-high compound wall to escape on Tuesday, another convict, Suresh, slipped away from a prison-run bazaar while attending to customers on Wednesday.Sujith Buhari had been lodged in Puzhal-II for the past two months after being arrested in connection with a theft case registered by JJ Nagar police. Prison sources said his family from Nepal had settled in Chennai and that he was arrested on charges of stealing money from his employer.On Tuesday, Sujith was assigned to sweep a prison block at 6am. While cleaning the premises, he complained of an ear problem and visited the hospital. Since Sujith was into sweeping the premises, he knew most of the location. He is suspected to have used a lungi left behind by another inmate and wires extending from the watchtower to climb over the wall.Sources said he might have made his way towards a 23-foot-high compound wall near the watchtower and the interview room, which separates the prison premises from the main road. However, there is no exit leading directly outside the prison. Even as officials were trying to trace Sujith, another inmate went missing on Wednesday morning.Suresh, a convict in a Pocso case registered by Maduravoyal police in 2019, escaped from a prison-run bazaar around 10.30am.He had been lodged in Puzhal-I and was assigned work at the outlet based on his conduct in prison. He was attending to customers when he mingled with the crowd and escaped. Prison officials lodged a complaint with Puzhal police on Wednesday.Police have formed a special team to trace both inmates and are examining CCTV footage from the prison premises. They have intensified the checks inside the prison as well.The last jail break at Puzhal was on Dec 23, 2023, when a 32-year-old woman escaped from the jail by blending into a crowd of visitors. A Jayanthi of Bengaluru, who had moved to Semmencheri with her family five years ago, was arrested for theft and lodged in the special prison for women in Puzhal in Oct that year.
