Mizoram: Five Myanmar Nationals, Including Murder Convict, Escape From Jail By Breaking Toilet Wall

The prisoners broke the bricks inside the jail toilet and climbed a wall that was 20-foot high and had a 15-foot barbed wire attached to it, the Lunglei district jail superintendent said.

Five Myanmar nationals, including three convicts, escaped from south Mizoram's Lunglei District Jail late Wednesday by breaking the walls of the toilet in Ward number 2. The jail authorities, along with other district police personnel, have launched a massive manhunt to nab the inmates. 

"All the prisoners escaped between 1.30 am and 2.15 am on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday. The jail had good security arrangements but still they managed to escape. We have constituted an inquiry to find out how the hardcore criminals could make their way out of the well-guarded jail," Lunglei district jail superintendent Zosanga said.

Zosanga said the prisoners broke the bricks inside the toilet at Ward number 2 and climbed a wall that was 20-foot high and had a 15-foot barbed wire attached.

Among those who escaped is 24-year-old Lalchawimawia, a resident of Thangte village in Lunglei district. Lalchawimawia, who originally hails from Myanmar, was recently convicted for murdering a 49-year-old woman in the hill state's Lunglei district.

Lalchawimawia had killed the woman T Vanlalduati with a machete after robbing her on September 6, 2021.

The other inmates who escaped -- Lalbawihliana (27), Dokapthang (26), Haudeihchhin (25) and Vanneihtluanga (38) -- were arrested on charges of smuggling and trafficking drugs, including heroin, from neighbouring Myanmar and were booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act of 1985.

Apart from Lalchawimawia, Lalbawihliana and Vanneihthanga are undergoing their jail terms after being convicted by local courts while Dokapthanga and Haudeihchhin are undertrial prisoners.

 Zosanga said Lunglei district jail was overcrowded with 151 inmates, including 16 women, while the capacity is only 109.

While there are seven duty posts along the prison walls, only three duty posts are manned by the Mizoram Home Guards personnel. Four of them are unmanned due to shortage of manpower.

Sources said such security lapses have been reported previously as well due to shortage of manpower and vehicles.