Serial bomb blast accused digs 18 ft tunnel in Sabarmati jail
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- Current News
- Monday, 11 February 2013 16:07
- Published on Monday, 11 February 2013 16:07
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Gujarat Global News Network, Ahmedabad
A 18 ft long tunnel has been discovered in the Sabarmati jail in a barrack where serial bomb blast accused are lodged.
The prisoners were digging the tunnel using dinner plates and wood since last 4-5 months. The tunnel operation was carried out on the pretext of gardening and was supervised by a prisoner who is B.Tech and two others who are engineers. They had planned to join the tunnel to drainage so that they could escape easily.
Jail and police authorities got a shock as the entire operation was done under their nose. Sabarmati jail is very old and police claim tight security measures. The tunnel was dug behind barrack number 4 called “Chhota Chakkar”. 14 accused have confessed to their crime and a high level inquiry has been ordered in the incident.
Jail IG P C Thakur rushed to the jail and to cover up failure of authorities claimed that escape was impossible as the wall surrounding the barracks were 21 feet high and 20 ft deep in the earth. But he had no answer to a question that till 18 ft was dug authorities had no inkling about it.
He said that the accused had volunteered for garden work around the barrack and under that cover they were dumping the sand extracted from the tunnel into the garden outside. Everyday they used to get 4-5 hours free time to do work of their choice and police suspect that they used this time to carry out their operation.
The authorities came to know about the tunnel on Sunday night when they suspected something strange in behavior of two inmates at barrack four. The two were interrogated and they confessed about the tunnel. As many as 14 accused in the July 2008 serial bomb blast in Ahmedabad are lodged in this barrack. Of the 68 accused of the serial bomb blast case 14 were in this barrack. “We have registered an FIR and investigation is on”, superintendent of Sabarmati Central Jail V M Parghi said. They had planned to escape and half of the work was done, he added.
The state Home Ministry has ordered an inquiry into the incident. Additional DG jail and city police commissioner will investigate the case, M D Antani Secretary Home department said. He said that after the report strict action would be taken against those responsible.
All the 50 accused in the serial bomb blast case are lodged in the Sabarmati jail. In all 68 persons were named but 20 are absconding. Their trial is taking place inside the jail premises as government has invoked 268 of CrPC restricting their movements.
Additional Principal Sessions judge Jyotsna Yagnik who is conducting the trial of the case also visited the jail premises. Officials from Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS), Special Operation Group (SOG) and Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) rushed to the spot.
Usman Agarbatti, a civil engineer is said to be the mastermind of the plan. Other accused who have been held are Sajid Mansuri, Yunus Mansuri, Shamsood Shahpurwala, Kadri Juhapurawala, Umar Kala, Arif Kadri and Mufti Abu Bashar.
On July 26, 2008 nearly 20 bomb blasts occurred in the city simultaneously killing 57 people. All the blast accused are lodged in the Sabarmati jail.
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