Nepal News. 17 January 2002. 30 prisoners flee Surkhet jail.
SURKHET -- Thirty prisoners, including 20 Maoists, escaped from the Surkhet District jail through a tunnel in the wee hours of Wednesday, the District Administration Office here said. There were 50 prisoners in the male ward. The jail is located in an isolated area near a jungle, where police patrolling used to be lax. Jail authorities said the prisoners dug a 30-feet long and 22 inches wide tunnel with the help of sharp firewood. The jail authorities suspect that the prisoners might have escaped taking advantage of the heavy rainfall yesterday night. Sources also said no policemen were on duty at the southern point of the jail when the jail inmates fled. There were 25 policemen assigned to look after the prison house. Other policemen, who were not on duty, heard gun sounds from outside the jail. It is suspected that other Maoists must have arrived near the jail to take their comrades. The jail authorities today found that the prisoners had hidden debris of the tunnel in sacks. Interestingly, other prisoners, who remained inside the jail, never informed the jail authorities about the clandestine plan. All the Maoist prisoners were facing charges of anti-state activities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barry Stoller http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProletarianNews
