RAUTAHAT: A prisoner serving sentence of 15 years escaped from Rautahat District Prison in Gaur after cutting an electric fence on Sunday night.

Prisoner Ashok Raya Yadav had been serving the sentence since 2017 after he was convicted of carrying out kidnappings and other organised crimes.

According to Rautahat District Police Office (DPO), Yadav, who had been working as an electrical technician in the prison, disrupted the power to make an escape in the darkness.

It has been reported that the prisoner may have escaped after climbing over the wall. Only two of the three entrances were padlocked from the outside while one of the gates at the interior of the prison was left open. As a rule, all entrances and gates should have been locked by 8:00 pm. The open gate at the interior part indicated negligence on the part of prison staff.

The DPO further said, Yadav was familiar with the whole electric system at the prison. On Sunday evening, when a sudden power outage occurred in the prison, one of the staffers went to call Yadav to check the electricity. The administration at the prison came to know about Yadav's escape only after he was not found in his cell.

Meanwhile, a search for the escaped prisoner is going on, spokesperson at the DPO, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Nabin Karki said.

Chief District Officer (CDO) Kiran Thapa informed that a three-member probe committee has been formed today at Rautahat District Administration Office (DAO) to investigate and present a report about the escape within three days.

The probe committee includes Police Inspector Nabin Kumar Singh and Inspector at National Investigation Department, Maya Shankar Singh under the coordination of an officer at the DAO, Kiran Nidhi Tiwari.

The CDO further appealed to the bodies concerned to take initiative to manage the prison that houses inmates more than three times its capacity.