Daijiworld Media Network - Agartala

Agartala, Oct 2: The Tripura government has suspended two jail officials following a dramatic escape by six inmates from Dharmanagar Sub-Jail in North Tripura district. Jailor Dhananjoy Bhattacharya and Warder Pallab Kanti Bhowmik were placed under suspension by the Inspector General of Prisons on Thursday, a day after the breakout that left one guard injured and five fugitives still on the run.

The jailbreak occurred early Wednesday morning when six inmates—five undertrials and one serving a life sentence—assaulted a jail guard with sharp weapons during a routine morning schedule involving breakfast and ablutions. The guard, Bedu Miah, sustained injuries and is currently receiving treatment at the Dharmanagar District Hospital, where his condition is reported to be stable.

Following the incident, an intensive manhunt was launched, with security forces scouring the area for the escapees. One of the fugitives, Abdul Patta, was apprehended later that evening in South Chandrapur under Dharmanagar police station. Patta, a resident of Nilambazar in Assam’s Sribhumi district (formerly Karimganj), was previously arrested under the NDPS Act for drug-related offences.

Efforts to capture the remaining five fugitives—Rahim Ali, Narayan Chandra Dutta, Rosan Ali, Nazim Uddin, and Sunil Debbarma—are ongoing. Debbarma, the only convict among them, is serving a life sentence for serious crimes, including murder. Dutta, a Bangladeshi national, had been arrested under the Passport Act and other charges.

Authorities have alerted all police stations and security posts in North Tripura and neighbouring Unakoti districts. The Superintendent of Police for North Tripura, Avinash Kumar Rai, is personally leading one of the search operations. Additional reinforcements have been deployed, and all exit routes along state borders with Assam and Mizoram, as well as the international border with Bangladesh, have been sealed. The Border Security Force (BSF) has been asked to maintain heightened vigilance to prevent any attempts by the fugitives to cross into Bangladesh.

Disciplinary proceedings are expected against the suspended jail officials, as questions arise over lapses in security and protocol that led to one of the most serious jailbreaks the state has seen in recent years.