Particle.news

DIG Probe Exposes Security Breakdown at Kannur Central Jail

It has prompted a high-level judicial inquiry alongside plans for a new central jail to tackle chronic overcrowding.

Overview

  • The DIG report led by V. Jayakumar identified nonfunctional CCTV cameras, unfenced electrification gaps and a shortfall of prison officers as factors that enabled Govindachamy’s escape.
  • Assistant Superintendent K. C. Rijoy was suspended on the DIG’s recommendation, joining four other officials removed for dereliction of duty and unprofessional conduct.
  • The report called for a separate investigation into the unauthorized leak of CCTV footage showing the jail break.
  • Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan appointed a high-level inquiry committee led by former High Court judge C. N. Ramachandran Nair and former state police chief Jacob Punnoose to diagnose prison vulnerabilities.
  • Authorities have begun evaluating sites for a new central jail after finding Kannur’s facility housing about 1,200 inmates in a space built for fewer than 950.