Guwahati, Oct 12 (IANS): Police said on Saturday that the prisoners who escaped from Assam’s Morigaon district jail are still at large while a manhunt has been launched to arrest them.

An official said that a magisterial-level inquiry has been ordered while the police also launched an investigation into the incident.

“We have launched a manhunt across several places around Morigaon district. Different teams have been conducting search operations and we are hopeful that the five inmates will be behind the bar very soon,” an official said.

The Inspector General (Prison) of Assam Police has also suspended the jail superintendent of Morigaon Prison Prashanta Saikia.

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

According to police, the jail wall is about 20 feet high; however, the prisoner used blankets, lungis, and bedsheets to escape the tall boundary.

“The incident happened around 2 AM on Friday. All five of them were accused in a POCSO case and the trial was underway,” a senior police official said.

He added that a case has been registered in the incident.

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