In a significant breakthrough, Jharkhand Police have successfully recaptured three dangerous life convicts who staged a daring escape from the high-security Loknayak Jai Prakash Narayan Central Jail in Hazaribag last month. The fugitives were arrested from a brick kiln in Solapur district, Maharashtra, following a relentless, multi-state manhunt that spanned over a week and covered five states.
The Midnight Escape: Bedsheet Ropes and a Weakened Grill
The audacious jailbreak occurred in the dead of night on December 30, between 1:30 AM and 2:00 AM. According to Hazaribag Superintendent of Police Anjani Anjan, the three prisoners—Deva Bhuiyan, Jitendra Rawani, and Rahul Rajwar—executed a plan they had devised after being sentenced. They targeted an already weakened iron rod on a window in sector-6, ward-4 of the jail.
Using torn bedsheets fashioned into a makeshift rope, they scaled down the 17-feet-high outer wall. Jitendra Rawani was the first to descend, followed by Deva Bhuiyan and Rahul Rajwar. Once outside the prison premises, they vanished into the night, triggering a massive search operation.
The Pan-India Flight: From Jharkhand to a Maharashtra Brick Kiln
The SP detailed the convicts' intricate escape route, pieced together during the investigation. After escaping, they first reached Sindoor Chowk in Hazaribag city. From there, they hired a vehicle to Kurha village in Ichak, where a relative of Deva Bhuiyan provided initial shelter.
Their subsequent journey was a circuitous one aimed at throwing police off their trail:
- They traveled to Barkatha and then Barhi.
- From Koderma railway station, they boarded a train to Gaya, Bihar.
- They then moved to Jasidih in Deoghar, Jharkhand, and waited for two days.
- From Jasidih, they boarded a train to Pune, Maharashtra.
- They reached Daund Junction on January 6 and took a bus.
- Finally, they walked 12-15 kilometers to reach Korty Chowk in Solapur district.
In Solapur, they took shelter at a brick kiln owned by an acquaintance and began working as labourers to avoid detection.
The Coordinated Manhunt and Dramatic Capture
The Hazaribag police formed three Special Investigation Teams (SITs) led by SDPO (Sadar) Amit Anand to track the fugitives. One team focused on technical surveillance, another traced their possible physical routes, and the third conducted raids on suspected hideouts.
Through sustained technical analysis and human intelligence, police tracked their movements across Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and finally, Maharashtra. A special team zeroed in on their location at the brick kiln under the Karmala police station limits in Solapur and apprehended them. They were brought back to Jharkhand on transit remand.
All three arrested individuals are hardened criminals from Dhanbad district, with long histories of serious offences under the IPC and the Arms Act. They were serving life sentences in different POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) cases.
SP Anjani Anjan stated that the prisoners are undergoing detailed interrogation to reconstruct the entire escape plan and identify any facilitators. "We are examining whether the accused received any assistance from inside or outside the jail. Anyone from the jail administration found guilty will face strict action," he asserted.
Highlighting that the Hazaribag Central Jail is considered one of the state's most secure facilities, the SP said the police treated the case as a major challenge. "Hazaribag Police remain fully committed to crime prevention and swift detection," he added, marking the end of a tense interstate operation.
