Daijiworld Media Network - Bilaspur
Bilaspur, Jul 14: A 40-year-old watchman was allegedly strangled to death by four inmates of a government-run observation home before they escaped from the facility in the early hours of Monday in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur district, police said.
The inmates, aged between 18 and over 20 years, were juveniles when they allegedly committed criminal offences and had been lodged at the correctional facility under the Juvenile Justice Act. They continued to remain at the residential institution, officially designated as a "place of safety", after attaining adulthood.
The incident occurred at around 2 am at the government-run facility under the Sarkanda police station limits, Bilaspur Senior Superintendent of Police Rajnesh Singh said.
The deceased was identified as Narendra Kumar Khande, a resident of Araiband village in Takhatpur area of the district, who worked as a contractual watchman at the institution.
According to the preliminary investigation, the four inmates allegedly assaulted Khande, tied his hands and legs, gagged him by stuffing a piece of cloth into his mouth and then strangled him before fleeing the premises.
"The motive behind the murder is yet to be ascertained. Prima facie, it appears the inmates demanded the keys to the gates from the watchman with the intention of escaping. When he refused, they overpowered him, killed him and fled," Singh said, adding that a detailed investigation was underway.
Bilaspur Child Development Project Officer Sujata Haldar said three of the absconding inmates—two aged above 18 years and one above 19 years—belong to Raigarh district, while the fourth, aged above 20 years, is from Korba district.
She said all four had been transferred from juvenile homes in their respective districts to the Bilaspur "place of safety", where offenders are housed until they attain the age of 21.
According to Haldar, the three inmates from Raigarh are undertrials in separate criminal cases, while the inmate from Korba had been convicted in a murder case.
Police launched a search operation after the incident came to light at around 8 am. Forensic experts, assisted by a dog squad, examined the crime scene and collected evidence. Investigators are also analysing CCTV footage and pursuing other leads to trace the escaped inmates.
The incident comes weeks after 11 juveniles escaped from a government-run observation home in Chhattisgarh's Surguja district on Jun 23 after allegedly taking advantage of heavy rain and a power outage.