India: Tiger killer escapes from high security jail

Posted by admin on 2006/11/24 5:30:40

Hyderabad, Nov 24 (IANS) A man charged with the sensational killing of a tigress in a zoo six years ago escaped from a high security jail here early Friday, but another prisoner was caught trying to make a getaway.

Salahuddin, who is alleged to have brutally killed the Royal Bengal tigress Sakhi and skinned her, escaped from the Cherlapally jail on the city outskirts.

But fellow prisoner Chandrasekhar Gupta, who could not climb down from the security tower, was re-arrested with the help of fire fighting personnel.

The prisoners reportedly broke the ventilators in a bathroom in their barrack and climbed the tower. While Salahuddin escaped with the help of a rope, Gupta could not climb down.

Police has been alerted and a high level probe ordered into the incident. Jail authorities did not rule out the possibility of security personnel colluding with the prisoners.

Salahuddin, 26, was arrested in February last year and released on bail in December. He was rearrested in February this year in connection with a series of burglaries.

When presented before media, he had threatened to commit suicide if the police failed to file chargesheets on time in his cases.

It was on the night of Oct 5, 2000 that Salahuddin and two others had barged into the zoo and committed the bone-chilling crime of killing 13-month-old Sakhi in front of eight other tigers in a cage.

Salahuddin had confessed that he lassoed the animal and cut its jugular vein with a knife after dragging it out. He later skinned the animal.

His escape has raised questions about security in the biggest jail in the state. In February last year, a mobile phone was seized in the jail premises. Two sentry constables and a warder were arrested in connection with the incident.

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