Efforts on to nab escapee convict

Having nabbed one of the two prisoners who evaded arrest for a month since their escape from the Open Prison at Nettukaltheri, the Thiruvananthapuram Rural police have intensified efforts to apprehend the other convict. Sreenivasan, 49, of Kollemcode in Kanyakumari, was caught from a textile mill in Tirupur on the basis of a tip-off.

According to Neyyar Dam Inspector Renjith Kumar, a lookout notice that was circulated on the WhatsApp groups of his colleagues at the mill and others in the region proved decisive. A Shadow police team has been keeping vigil in the area since Sreenivasan had jumped the prison along with fellow prisoner Rajesh Kumar of Veeranakavu on December 23.

Soon after the incident, the police pursued the possibilities of Sreenivasan having fled to Tirupur where he had previously remained in hiding when he violated parole conditions and absconded for seven years in the past. Following his arrest, he was remanded in judicial custody. He will be subsequently transferred to the Poojappura Central Prison where he has been undergoing life term for murdering a pregnant woman.

The police are now exploring leads that Rajesh Kumar, who had raped and murdered a 15-year-old girl in 2012, could also be in Tamil Nadu. The police suspect the convict to have gone to Thirunelveli, Tiruchi, Madurai, and Theni.