Bhubaneswar, 09 March (H.S.): A total of 44 prisoners have escaped from various jails across Odisha in the past five years, with 17 of them still absconding, according to information shared in the Assembly. The data was provided by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi in a written reply to the House.

The information also detailed the current status of inmates in the state’s correctional facilities, highlighting the distribution between undertrial prisoners and convicts serving sentences.

Odisha currently has 86 jails housing 18,176 prisoners. Of these, 14,040 are undertrial inmates, while 4,136 are convicts serving their sentences. The figures indicate a significant proportion of undertrial prisoners in the state’s prison system.

The Chief Minister informed the Assembly that of the 44 escapees over the last five years, 27 have been recaptured by the authorities. Efforts are ongoing to trace and apprehend the remaining 17 fugitives.

The data underscores challenges in prison security and the need for enhanced measures to prevent escapes while managing a large undertrial population.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda