Daijiworld Media Network – Raipur

Raipur, Aug 22: A major security scare unfolded at Raipur Central Jail on Thursday after an inmate, identified as Chandraveer Singh, escaped from the premises, raising serious questions over jail administration and safety arrangements.

Officials said the incident occurred between 2 and 2:30 pm, when five inmates were taken for welding work near the under-construction women’s jail block. Singh, convicted under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, managed to slip away unnoticed.

In July 2024, a Special NDPS Court in Raipur had sentenced Singh to 15 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 3 lac for drug trafficking. Failure to pay the fine would have added six more years to his jail term.

The escape has triggered alarm as Raipur Central Jail houses several notorious Maoists, members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, and even Chaitanya Baghel, son of former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.

The incident also underscores the larger crisis of overcrowding in Chhattisgarh’s prisons. Against an official capacity of 1,586 inmates, Raipur Central Jail currently holds over 3,000 prisoners, nearly 85% of them undertrial. Statewide, more than 20,000 inmates are lodged across 33 jails, which have a total capacity of just 14,883.

Nearly 40% of Raipur inmates face charges of heinous crimes, including murder, rape, and kidnapping. While prisoners are often assigned work inside the jail such as cooking, gardening, soap and candle making, poultry farming, plumbing, and electrical fitting, certain activities extend to controlled outdoor areas – a provision Singh allegedly exploited to escape.

Authorities have launched a manhunt for the fugitive, even as concerns grow over the efficacy of prison security in one of the state’s most sensitive jails.