MAPUSA
A prisoner who was undergoing trial on charges of raping a British woman escaped from the Colvale Central jail early Tuesday morning, even as his modus operandi to getaway remains a mystery to jail authorities.
This is the second under trial to escape from the high-security jail in less than a month. An under trial had run away from the Central jail on August 25 and still remains untraceable.
Meanwhile, police have launched a massive manhunt for the alleged rape accused, Ramchandrappa Yellapa (32), a native of Tamil Nadu, who, however, remained elusive till late in the evening.
Recounting the sequence of events from early morning, the Additional Inspector General of Prison, Ashutosh Apte informed that the under trial was tracked on the jail register till about 6.10 am.
“Thereafter he complained of a stomach ache and was referred to the dispensary within the campus. Instead of going to the dispensary, he went missing,” Apte informed.
At around 6.30 am the jail authorities realised that the under trial has not reported to the mess section and accordingly, a search operation was launched.
Initially, senior prison officials were of the opinion that the accused was hiding somewhere within the premises in the huge campus.
Although security officials searched the entire jail campus till late evening the accused was not found.
“There is no chance for him to escape by jumping over the wall as the outer walls are very huge,” Apte said.
According to the Additional IGP a report is being prepared and accordingly a decision will be taken on what action to be taken.
A special IRB platoon has been drafted to search for the accused.
The Inspector General of Prison, Gurudas Pilarnekar, Additional Inspector General of Prison, Ashutosh Apte, Superintendent of Police, Shekar Prabhudessai and additional secretary for home visited the Colvale jail.
The accused is being tried for allegedly raping and robbing a British woman near Palolem beach in Canacona in December 2018.
Yellapa is also accused of being involved in a Rs 32-lakh robbery in Morjim in the same year.
