Fourteen inmates escaped from a government juvenile observation home in Mathura on Wednesday by removing the grill of a window, the police said, adding that nine were brought back after a night-long operation.
District Magistrate, Mathura, Sarvagya Ram Mishra has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the matter. He admitted that the juvenile home had more inmates than the sanctioned capacity.
Additional Superintendent of Police, Mathura, Udai Shankar Singh said: “The juveniles escaped by removing the screws of the grill of a window around 2.30 a.m. One of the home guards noticed the movement and informed the police. We immediately pressed police teams into action and search operations were carried out along the Yamuna bank. By morning nine of them were found and the search is on for others,” Mr Singh told The Hindu.
Local sources said the inmates were complaining of poor food quality in the juvenile home.
Mr. Mishra said, “It is a matter of investigation, but the role of the home guard on duty and the in-charge of the juvenile home needs to be looked into as both were present at the time of the incident.” Prima facie, he said, the plot was hatched by one of the juveniles who was about to be shifted to the district jail because he had turned 18.
