Five delinquents lodged at an observation home in Mukerjee Nagar here allegedly tried to dig a hole along the boundary wall of the segregation ward they were staying in.
The incident took place on Saturday afternoon. However, the bid was foiled by “timely intervention”.
The five boys – all aged between 16 and 18 – were kept in the segregation ward because of the perceived threat of their influencing the other boys to resort to violence.
According to officials of Sewa Kutir, such segregation is a provision under the Juvenile Justice Act and the decision to do so is based on factors such as behaviour of the inmates or their repeated involvements in cases of conflict with law.
Sewa Kutir Superintendent Premodaya Khaka said the tool used for digging the hole was a rod wrenched out of a window in the room. The boys tried to distract the authorities by engaging themselves in a singing session as they started digging a hole through one of the boundary walls of the room they were in.
“It was around 2-30 p.m. that one of the guards stationed outside the segregation room heard the singing and tapping of something like a music instrument. Initially he thought it to be a recreational activity but as the singing continued for an unusually long time, he suspected something amiss and entered the room,” said Mr. Khakha.
Plan discovered When the guard entered the room, he saw that one of the iron rods from a window had been broken and was being used to break the wall. He then raised an alarm and the authorities came rushing in.
“We found that they were trying to create a foot-wide opening and had managed to reach halfway into the 9-inch thick wall. The iron rod was seized from them,” added Mr. Khaka.
On the other side of the boundary wall is an open space where guards are present and the location of the room is well within the boundaries of Sewa Kutir.
“We suspect that the boys were taking a chance, hoping that no guard would be around when they manage to carve out the hole,” he said.
