Guwahati, Oct 12 (IANS): The Jail Superintendent of Morigaon District Jail was suspended following the escape of five undertrial prisoners on Friday, officials said.

The suspension of Prashanta Saikia, the Jail Superintendent was directed by the Inspector General (Prison) of Assam Police, and a magisterial-level inquiry was also initiated, officials added.

It has been alleged that there were lapses from the jail authority which was utilised by five inmates in breaking the rods of the barrack.

The top police officials of the district conducted a preliminary investigation into the incident.

According to the police, the inmates allegedly used blankets, lungis, and bedsheets to scale the jail wall on Friday night. They had earlier broken the iron rods in their respective barracks and escaped the jail wall.

The jail wall is about 20 feet high; however, the prisoner used blankets, lungis, and bedsheets to make a long thread to escape the tall boundary, the police claimed.

"The incident happened around 2 a.m. on Friday. All five of them were accused in a POCSO case and the trial was underway," a senior police official told IANS.

He said that a case had been lodged and a probe was launched.

An investigation team reached the jail premises on Friday to note details of the incident.

"We are hopeful that the accused persons will be re-arrested soon," the police officer added.

The inmates were identified as Saifuddin, Jiyarul, Nur Islam, Mafidul, and Abdul Rashid.

Earlier in March this year, three undertrial prisoners in Tezpur Central Jail escaped by breaking the toilet window. The escaped prisoners were identified as Indajit Mandal, Zeherul Islam, and Thuleshwar Tati.

Zeherul Islam and Thuleshwar Tati live in Thelamara village in Assam's Sonitpur while Indajit Mandal is a resident of West Bengal.

The Sonitpur police had arrested each of them in 2023.