Alertness of residents helped nab Govindachamy
The first to spot the fugitive was Vinoj, a local man on his way to work at Thalap around 9.15am.
"I was riding my two-wheeler when I noticed a man walking slowly on the left side of the road. He looked like a beggar, and we exchanged glances briefly. I had already heard about Govindachamy's escape from prison, and something about the man I saw made me suspicious," Vinoj said.
He noted that the man was carrying what looked like waste cloth on his head, and oddly, his left hand was concealed inside the bundle, further raising suspicion.
"I told a nearby autorickshaw driver that I suspected the man to be Govindachamy. He got on my scooter, and we began to follow him. When I called out his name, he immediately bolted into a narrow lane and jumped over the compound wall of an under-construction building," Vinoj added.
Wasting no time, Vinoj informed Kannur Town police station. Within minutes, a police team arrived and launched a coordinated search operation, sealing off the area to prevent Govindachamy from slipping away.
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
The Secret Lives of the Romanovs — the Last Rulers of Imperial Russia!
studypediamag.com
Learn More
Undo
by Taboola
by Taboola
Police cordoned off the entire area, sealing all possible escape routes and conducted a thorough search. A female worker, who was clearing the undergrowth, also saw him flee into the thicket.
Sometime later, it was Unnikrishnan a staff member of National Sample Survey Office at Thalap, who spotted Govindachamy hiding inside the well near the office.
"After hearing that he had been seen nearby, I searched the office premises in the morning but found nothing. Later, I returned and opened the door to the well. As I looked inside, I saw him standing on the inner ledge, clutching a rope. I think he had submerged himself in water on hearing me approach and came up just after," Unnikrishnan said.
He said that on seeing him, Govindachamy threatened him with death if he raised an alarm. Police and residents rushed to the spot, and successfully caught him from the well.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
a day ago
- The Hindu
Govindachamy's escape exposes vulnerabilities of State prisons
Just before heading out for work on Friday morning, E. Vinoj Kumar, a private finance company employee of Kannur, quickly checked the WhatsApp messages on his mobile phone. Govindachamy escaped from the Kannur Central Prison, read a message. The image stopped Vinoj in his tracks. Like many others in Kerala, he vividly remembered the case and the outrage it had triggered. Making a mental note of the message, he hurriedly left for work. A few moments later, while moving along Pamban Madhavan Road, near Talap, he slowed down his vehicle to give way to a speeding bus. Just then, a man walked towards him, partly blocking the road. Something about the man made Vinoj look again. 'He was a lean fellow, wearing a white shirt and black trousers, and had one of his hands pushed under a bundle of cloth that he was carrying on his head,' Vinoj recalls. He sported a beard, unlike the image of the prisoner which was circulated on social media. Yet, something rang in his mind. He shared his doubts about the identity of the man with an autorickshaw driver whom he met on the road. 'I told him that the man looked like Govindachamy. The man walked faster as we approached him,' recollects Vinoj. As the autorickshaw driver attempted to strike up a conversation with the man, he didn't respond. He took to his heels when his name was called out. As he fled the scene, his amputated hand was revealed, which confirmed their suspicion. It was the life convict Govindachamy. Vinoj wasted no time in alerting the police. As the police were searching the area for the convict, M. Unnikrishnan, a government employee, reached his office at Talap for the day's work. 'One of my colleagues had alerted me about the news that the jailbird was last seen in the Talap area. There are a few vacant plots next to our office building, which, I felt, could serve as hiding places for criminals,' Unnikrishnan says. He ventured out to inspect the plots before the police team reached the area. Just to make sure, he threw a casual look into a well located in his office compound. To his shock, he saw Govindachamy trying to remain immersed in the water to escape the police. Ignoring the threats of the criminal, Unnikrishnan raised the alarm. In no time, the police reached the area and pulled the convict out of the well, thus ending the high-voltage prison escape that kept the State in the throes of tension for hours. Though the convict had jumped jail in the early hours of the day, his absence was noticed only a few hours later during the morning roll call. The discovery of a makeshift rope hanging from the outer wall of the jail, which he used for escaping, confirmed the suspicion. P. Nidhinraj, District Police Chief (Kannur City), described the escape as a 'well-planned operation.' Investigation revealed that the outlaw had collected clothes of remand prisoners to make a rope, used the abandoned water drums to scale walls. He had modified his dietary practices to lose weight and squeeze himself through narrow cell door rods. A hacksaw blade is suspected to have been used to cut through the iron bars of his cell in Block 10, reserved for high-risk inmates. The police believe that he slipped out of his cell around 1 a.m. and scaled three walls using the rope and the water drums. After spending around three hours on the jail compound, he is believed to have cleared the outer compound wall by 4.30 a.m. A defunct electric fence made his escape an easy affair, suspect police officers. A senior prison officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, says the jail staff had ignored the several 'tell-tale signs', including the altered behaviour and appearance of the prisoner, which, if noticed, would have prevented the escape. For one, Govindachamy had begun growing beard, which should have triggered suspicion in the minds of diligent officers. Moreover, his drastic dietary changes and noticeable weight loss also surprisingly went unnoticed, he says. The glaring lapses in the monitoring and surveillance system in the prison did not stop there. The empty drums on the jail premises and the easily accessible loose materials such as cloths, which the convict made use of for scaling the wall, were neither cleared nor flagged, despite routine patrols. Such 'tools' could be hoarded by prisoners looking for an opportune moment to escape, he says. Ashokan Arippa, a former Superintendent of the Kannur Central Prison, blames it on the security lapses and dereliction of duty of the jail officers concerned. 'A better vigilance and monitoring of the prisoners would have averted the incident. Most of the surveillance devices installed in the jail, including the CCTV cameras, were either non-functional or not pressed into service, which helped the convict slip out of the prison unnoticed,' he says. But Govindachamy's escape, observers say, is merely a symptom of a deeper institutional malaise. It has exposed the vulnerabilities of the prison system across the State, they say. The electric fencing at the Kannur Central Prison has been non-functional for nearly three years, a detail Govindachamy and others might have noticed. Only the Viyyur Central Prison and the adjacent High Security Prison at present have operational electric fencing. Many of Kerala's prisons, some built during British rule, are ageing relics in dire need of modernisation, points out a senior functionary of the Prisons department. T.P. Senkumar, former Director General of Prisons and Correctional Services, feels that most of the correctional facilities are unfit to be called prisons. 'Inmates are kept in small, poorly ventilated cells, often without fans. Surviving the summer months is a struggle.' Overcrowding has only worsened the situation. The average occupancy rate in Kerala's prisons is around 135%, higher than the national average of 131%. Official figures show 10,605 inmates are crammed into 57 prisons designed to hold only 7,828. The situation is dire in key facilities, including the central prisons at Poojappura, Viyyur, and Kannur, and the district jails in Ernakulam and Kottayam. The Block 10 at the Kannur Central Prison, in which Govindachamy has been lodged, is meant for solitary confinement. However, the authorities have put two inmates each in the 6 ft x 6 ft cell. The staff strength of the Kerala Prisons and Correctional Services has not grown proportionally to the number of inmates. The force has 2,289 personnel against a sanctioned strength of 2,415. Given the present number of inmates, it would require at least 3,600 employees to ensure effective round-the-clock surveillance and proper administration of jails, according to department officials. To plug the gap, prison authorities have increasingly turned to workers hired on a daily wage basis, a trend former Director General of Prisons and Correctional Services Alexander Jacob warns is fraught with risk. 'Contract workers are not bound by any service rules and are vulnerable to outside influence. This could open the door to corruption and resultant security lapses,' he cautions. Compounding these issues are bureaucratic delays and inadequate funding for the department. Crucial surveillance facilities like CCTV cameras and electric fences lie defunct due to the lack of annual maintenance contracts. Despite repeated reminders, the facilities have not been made operational, say department sources. 'During the 13th Finance Commission, we secured ₹154 crore for the purpose. Since then, no proposals have been submitted, leading to a complete funding drought over the next two Finance Commissions.' Besides the poor infrastructure facilities, political interference too has long plagued Kerala's prison system, say those familiar with the jail system. Senkumar alleges that certain prisons, especially Kannur, are seen as strongholds of some political parties. 'The Kannur Central Prison is effectively under the control of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front. Only politically aligned officers are appointed there. The jail advisory committees, often composed of influential politicians, some with serious criminal charges, exert disproportionate influence on jail governance,' he alleges. Ashokan Arippa concurs: 'Political pressure demoralises staff. Officers work in fear of repercussions.' However, P. Jayarajan, a member of the Kannur Jail Advisory Committee and a State committee member of the CPI(M), dismisses the allegations as politically motivated. 'It's a propaganda of the anti-Left forces and the right-wing media. Let us not forget the escape of 'Ripper' Jayanandan, a death row prisoner, from the Poojappura Central Prison in 2013 when the Congress-led United Democratic Front government was in power,' he counters. He also quickly points out that the advisory panels have no role in the daily affairs of the prison. 'The panel's role is limited to recommending the premature release of convicts.' Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who also holds the Home portfolio, has ordered a special investigation headed by former Kerala High Court Judge C.N. Ramachandran Nair and former State Police Chief Jacob Punnoose. Ramachandran Nair acknowledges the need for prison-specific reforms in the State. 'Each prison has unique shortcomings and issues to address. While overcrowding has remained a persistent issue, the situation has been exacerbated by the rising number of crimes, particularly drug-related offences.' Balram Kumar Upadhyay, Director General of Prisons and Correctional Services, says the demand for establishing more jails and enhancing the infrastructure facilities in existing ones will be examined soon. While the jailbreak has put the jail department in a bad light, it has also served as a wake-up call for the State government to introduce correctional measures in the functioning of the Prisons and Correctional Services of the State.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
Virginia horror: City councilman Lee Vogler dies after being set on fire; attack linked to personal dispute
Lee Vogler, left, and office of Showcase Magazine where Vogler was attacked (Image credits: X @LeeVogler, AP) Virginia city councilman, Lee Vogler, died in a violent attack Wednesday after he was set on fire by a man who attacked him due to personal matters unrelated to Vogler's political work. The 38-year-old was doused in gasoline by the suspect, who had forced his way into Vogler's office. As Vogler fled outside, yelling for help, the suspect chased him and ignited the flames. The suspect, 29-year-old Shotsie Michael Buck Hayes of Danville, was taken into police custody, and charges are pending. Police have not released further details on how the suspect gained entry to the locked office. The incident occurred at the office of Showcase Magazine, a monthly publication serving southwest Virginia and North Carolina, where Vogler also works as a salesperson and writer. According to magazine owner Andrew Scott Brooks, two employees were inside at the time. Brooks described the terrifying scene, as quoted by AP, 'They forced their way into the office, and went to Lee. The next thing, Lee is running through the office covered in gasoline, yelling for our officemate to call 911. The guy chased him outside and set him on fire.' Vogler was immediately flown to a burn unit at a hospital in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like The Secret Lives of the Romanovs — the Last Rulers of Imperial Russia! Learn More Undo His current condition was not disclosed, and UNC Health declined to comment. The councilmember's father, Jack Vogler Sr, spoke briefly to AP but did not provide updates on his son's condition. V ogler has served on the Danville City Council for over 12 years and is currently in his fourth term. He is known for his dedication to the community, having formed a group called Moving Danville Forward to revitalize the city. Brooks said Vogler's passion lies in serving on the city council and helping residents with their concerns. 'He loves when people call them with a concern that he can help them with, and he has been an asset to the community for much of his adult life,' Brooks said. Voogler is survived by his two sons and wife and actively coaches their sports teams. Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin quickly condemned the attack, stating, 'Our prayers go out to Danville City Councilman Lee Vogler who was violently attacked at his workplace earlier today. We pray for a swift recovery for Lee and for peace to be on the entire Danville community.' Danville is located about 140 miles north of Charlotte, North Carolina. The investigation remains underway as authorities continue to gather information.
The Hindu
3 days ago
- The Hindu
Dead fences and crumbling walls, Kerala's prisons vulnerable to more breaches
The escape of rape and murder convict Govindachamy from the Kannur Central Prison has exposed deep-rooted lapses in Kerala's prison security system, where outdated infrastructure and administrative inertia have long gone unaddressed. The electric fencing at the prison, meant to deter such breakouts, has not been functioning for nearly three years. This is not an isolated lapse. Except for the Viyyur Central Prison and the adjacent High Security Prison, all central prisons in the State suffer from similar vulnerabilities. Sources point to chronic underfunding and poor interdepartmental coordination as key reasons delaying much-needed security upgrades of prison facilities. While electric fencing has been installed around the central prisons, except the Thavanur Central Prison and the High Security Prison, several years ago, the absence of live power supply has rendered these systems ineffective. At the Poojappura Central Prison, the fencing has been inoperative for nearly two years. The issue stems from expired annual maintenance contracts (AMC) and persistent delays by implementing agencies, including the Public Works department, in preparing repair estimates. Even the High Security Prison stares at a similar situation, with its AMC having lapsed. Compounding the problem, the lack of periodic maintenance has also hampered the surveillance infrastructure within prisons, as many CCTV cameras lack technical support. Further exposing prisons to more potential jailbreaks, boundary walls in certain facilities are crumbling, forcing prison superintendents fund makeshift repairs using their own funds. These challenges are particularly acute in ageing institutions built during the British era. The situation has been exacerbated by Kerala's ongoing fiscal crisis. The government had allocated ₹20 crore in the last State Budget for prison upgrades, despite proposals for nearly ₹100 crore being submitted. Half of the allocated amount was later slashed due to budgetary constraints, further straining prison resources. The Kerala Prisons and Correctional Services has now pinned its hopes on the decisions taken at a recent meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan that resolved to make electric fences fully operational in all major prisons. The prison authorities have also expedited the ongoing security audit of its correctional facilities. At present, the periodic assessment is complete in 39 prisons, with steps under way to conduct the exercise in the remaining 18. Director General of Prisons and Correctional Services Balram Kumar Upadhyay told The Hindu that a number of steps are being planned to enhance security measures. 'Electric fencing will be the top priority for all central prisons. In addition, we will soon install 340 more CCTV cameras across jails to strengthen the existing network of nearly 1,500 cameras,' he says. To improve night-time security, high-mast lighting has already been installed on five major prison complexes. 'We are looking into every aspect (of security vulnerabilities) after the incident. Security measures are being reassessed. We hope to implement the upgraded measures within a couple of months,' he says. Sources indicate that the Home department is also exploring new technologies, including motion-sensing surveillance systems. The possibility of partnering with start-ups to pilot motion sensors is also being explored to detect unauthorised movement and potential breaches.
