Bilaspur, Jul 13 (PTI) Four inmates of a government-run observation home, aged between 18 and over 20 years, allegedly strangled to death a 40-year-old watchman and escaped from the facility in Chhattisgarh’s Bilaspur district in the early hours of Monday, officials said.
The four were juveniles when they allegedly committed criminal offences and were detained at the correctional home under the Juvenile Justice Act, but continued to remain at the residential facility, officially known as ‘place of safety’, even after attaining adulthood, they explained.
The incident occurred at around 2 am at the government-run facility under the Sarkanda police station limits, Bilaspur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rajnesh Singh said.
The deceased, Narendra Kumar Khande, was a resident of Araiband village in the Takhatpur area of the district and worked as a watchman on contractual basis, he said.
According to 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 escaping from the premises, the police officer said.
“The motive behind the murder was 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,” he said, adding a detailed investigation was underway.
Bilaspur Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) Sujata Haldar said three of the absconding inmates — two aged over 18 years and one above 19 — are residents of Raigarh district, while the fourth, aged above 20 years, belongs to Korba district.
All four had been shifted from juvenile homes in their respective districts to the Bilaspur ‘place of safety’, where offenders are kept until they attain the age of 21, she said.
The three inmates from Raigarh are undertrials in separate cases, while the one from Korba had been convicted in a murder case, Haldar said.
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, while investigators are scanning CCTV footage and pursuing other leads to trace the absconding inmates, police said.
The incident comes weeks after 11 juveniles escaped from a government-run observation home in Chhattisgarh’s Surguja district on June 23, allegedly taking advantage of heavy rain and a power outage. PTI COR TKP RSY
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