Kerala rape convict Govindachamy caught from a well hours after Kannur central prison break

Kerala police have successfully nabbed rape convict Govindachamy hours after his daring escape from Kannur Central Prison during the early hours of Friday. According to reports, the convict was nabbed within a four-kilometre vicinity of the prison and was reportedly hiding in a well. 

 

  A habitual offender, Govindachamy was arrested in 2011 for the rape and murder of a 23-year-old woman in Shornur. According to police, Govindachamy, who was lodged in a high-security cell at the central prison, had cut through iron bars and jumped out, scaling over a 7-metre perimeter wall of the prison.

 

According to authorities, the convict tied clothes together as rope to climb the wall and escape from there. Govindachamy was reportedly wearing the prison uniform at the time of jumping out of prison. According to reports, jail authorities came to know about his escape only around 5am and state police were alerted only by 7.15am. CCTV footage emerged showing Govindachamy crossing a road, based on which police concentrated searches in Talapu area, Kannur. According to authorities, the convict escaped from prison after 4am.  

Balram Kumar Upadhyay, DGP-Prisons, said a thorough investigation would be launched, and stern action would be taken against those officials who failed in their responsibilities.

A habitual offender, Govindachamy hails from Virudhachalam in Tamil Nadu and has been facing charges in several theft cases around Salem. The differently-abled man was convicted for the rape and murder of 23-year-old Soumya in February 2011.

Soumya, was a staff at one of the shopping malls in Kochi. On February 1, 2011, Govindachamy pushed Soumya out of a train while she was travelling alone in one of the coaches of a passenger train to Shornur. The victim was assaulted and pushed off from the train by Govindachamy. The convict also dragged the victim to a wooded area near the track at Vallathol Nagar and raped her. Soumya succumbed to injuries a few days later.

Govindachamy was sentenced to death by a fast-track court, and the Kerala High Court upheld the sentence. However, the Supreme Court commuted his death sentence to life, citing a lack of evidence to prove he was guilty of murder.

India