Varanasi: As many as eight juvenile offenders lodged at a child remand home for heinous offences like raping a minor, kidnap, theft and others, fled the juvenile remand home after dismantling the exhaust fan of its kitchen, in Mau, late Saturday afternoon.
Mau district magistrate Pravin Mishra on Sunday said that of the eight juvenile inmates who managed to escape, six were caught by late Saturday night, while two remained absconding. He said a team under city magistrate and district probation officer had been formed to investigate the matter and on the basis of its report, accountability of officials and staff concerned would be fixed.
CO (city) Anjani Kumar Pandey said during the evening roll call, eight inmates of the remand home were found missing and staff and officials of the home swung into action. They checked the campus when it came to light that the exhaust fan of the kitchen had been removed to enable the escape. Pandey added that, on being alerted, the remand home officials and police launched a manhunt and six of the juveniles were caught from their homes or hideouts. A search for the two others, who hail from Azamgarh and Sultanpur, is on.
According to officials, the remand home inmates who escaped were between 15 and 17 years of age. One of them was booked in five cases of theft, while others are accused of different crimes, including rape of a minor girl, kidnap, and other crimes.