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The great escape
 Sher
Singh Rana, the main accused in the murder of forest brigand-turned-politician
Phoolan Devi, recently made a dramatic escape from Tihar Jail in Delhi, which
has been famous for high-security alerts.
It is said a fake police team
in uniform from another state had produced a fake release warrant and taken away
the accused out of Tihar Jail. It was only after the team had left with the
accused did the prison authorities realise their lapse.
The
entire episode is unbelievable and seems straight out of an Indian film. The
incident also raised several serious questions. Prison authorities cannot
release a prisoner unless they get orders directly from the court of law.
In this case, why did the
authorities act with haste merely on the fake warrants produced by a fake police
team. Did the authorities fail to test the identity of the policemen?
In most such escapes, it was
found that the jail officials had connived with the criminals and in this case
only a detailed inquriy can reveal whether there was any connivance of the
prison authorities in this dramatic escape.
 The
reason given by the prison authorities points the needle of suspicion only at
the authorities as there are strict guidelines in the prison manual to be
followed while releasing a prisoner.
Generally, how do criminals
escape? The question would give some interesting information.
Normally, policemen should not
keep any accused in police custody for more than 24 hours. But in most police
stations they keep the arrested in custody for several days without officially
showing the arrest.
If a person is arrested on
Friday, police normally keep him in custody for the weekend. There are many
instances in which the criminals made good their escape by befooling the
policemen.
Many criminals had escaped when
the policemen had allowed them to answer nature's call. In some cases, while the
policemen were waiting outside, the criminals would escape through the windows
of the bathroom or latrine.
Sometimes, the policemen would
handcuff the accused while taking them by buses to produce them in courts. Many
criminals have used this opportunity to escape when the policemen show
negligence.
 'Kattupochi',
a criminal, had used a clever ploy to escape. His hand structure was special in
that it helped him get his hands out of the cuffs by wriggling his fingers.
Once, when the policemen were
taking him to a court in a bus, the policemen had got down to have tea. When
they returned, they found only the handcuff hanging on the seat and the criminal
had easily escaped by cleverly freeing his hands.
Sometimes the policemen also
deliberately help the criminals escape. Some policemen, after arresting a
criminal and recovering the stolen property from them, would deliberately let
them go so that they could keep the property.
 Once
the accused are imprisoned, escape becomes tougher as all jails have round-
the-clock vigil. But in several instances, criminals have escaped easily from
jail also by using various tricks.
When the criminals report any
illness, they would naturally be admitted to a hospital with police escort. In
many instances, criminals escape from such hospitals either by bribing or by
deceiving the escort.
Many criminals successfully
give the slip to the policemen while they are being taken to the court by the
escort policemen. In several instances, criminals have dug holes inside the
prison cell and escaped easily.
But
the escape of the accused in the Phoolan Devi murder case has made criminal
history. Since the murder of Phoolan Devi had assumed political significance,
political influence, along with the connivance of the prison officials, should
have led to the dramatic escape from Tihar Jail.
Criminal history reveals that
criminals, with the influence of money and politics, easily escape from the
clutches of law.
Even if convicted, some escape
from prison with their influence. It is only the lowly criminals who have no
influence of money or politics undergo the punishment and suffer in prisons.
Harvey
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