12 teenage convicts escape juvenile home in UP

LUCKNOW: 12 teenage convicts have escaped from the juvenile home in Muzaffarnagar, UP. They drilled a hole in the wall of their room and escaped on Friday night, cocking a snook at the security cover.
Home officials raised alarm on Saturday morning when they saw inmates missing. The incident is said to be a fallout of a verbal altercation leading to exchange of blows between the said inmates and the juvenile home in-charge, Om Singh, a few days ago.
According to the district probation officer, Muzaffarnagar, Harikant Sharma, the inmates were of the age group 13-16 years and hailed from poor families but had taken to crime at an early age.While four belonged to Muzaffarnagar, eight were from Saharanpur district, he said. All the 12 boys were convicted by the juvenile justice board on different charges like rape, sodomy, attempt to rape, theft, robbery, breach of peace, auto lifting besides other offences.
Senior police and district administration officers rushed to the spot after the alarm. They found a big hole in the freshly constructed room in the home where the 12 inmates were kept. The hole was apparently drilled through iron rods.
A case has been registered with the police against the inmates. A case of negligence against two home guards on duty in the night has also been lodged. District Magistrate Pankaj Kumar has instituted a probe into the incident.
The police suspects role of an insider in the incident as it is not easy for the boys to acquire iron rods, drill a hole in the wall and escape without anybody noticing it. In fact, four home guards remain on duty at a time in the home.
There are accusations against the juvenile staff of ill-treating inmates. The home staff, however, said that the 12 inmates had attacked the juvenile home in-charge on April 2 when the latter took the boys to task for indiscipline.
The family members of the boys have been informed. Police is interrogating staff as well as other inmates of the home. The hole drilled in the hall is around 1X2 feet in size, enough for boys to sneak out. The sources in the police said that material used in construction of the room is also of poor quality. Also, this is not the first time that inmates have run away from the home. In last five years, as many as four such incidents have taken place.