5 juveniles dead in clashes in Nepal prison, over 7,000 prisoners escape from different jails amid unrest

KATHMANDU: At least five juvenile inmates died during a clash with security personnel at a jail in western Nepal, while more than 7,000 prisoners escaped from different jails across the country during the violent anti-government protests, according to media reports.

The massive anti-government demonstrations across Nepal that forced Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli to resign on Tuesday led to a serious law and order situation across districts, prompting the Nepal Army on Wednesday to impose nationwide restrictive orders followed by a curfew.

Inmates took advantage of the protests and tried to escape from jails, resulting in clashes across several prison facilities since Tuesday.

"Five juvenile inmates died in a clash with security personnel at the Naubasta Correctional Home in Naubasta Regional Jail located in Baijnath Rural Municipality-3 of Banke on Tuesday night,” The Rising Nepal newspaper said.

The five juvenile inmates were killed and four were seriously injured when police opened fire during a clash that broke out when inmates tried to take over the weapons of security personnel of the correctional home, the newspaper said, quoting the Naubasta Juvenile Correctional Home office.

According to authorities, 149 of the 585 inmates from the prison and 76 of the 176 detainees from the juvenile home escaped during the incident.

MyRepublica newspaper reported that around 7,000 inmates across the country have escaped from various prisons.

Citing Home Ministry sources, the paper said that the escapes were reported from multiple facilities, including Dillibazar Jail (1,100), Chitwan (700), Nakkhu (1,200), Jhumpka in Sunsari (1,575), Kanchanpur (450), Kailali (612), Jaleshwar (576), Kaski (773), Dang (124), Jumla (36), Solukhumbu (86), Gaur (260), and Bajhang (65).

“The prisoners threatened security personnel while breaking out. With convicts serving sentences for various crimes now at large, fear has gripped the public. Many victims of these crimes have reportedly fled their homes, fearing reprisals,” it said.

In a separate report, the paper said all 471 inmates, including 43 women, escaped from the district jail in Sindhuligadhi, Sindhuli in southern Nepal's Bagmati province.

According to the prison administration, the inmates set fire inside the facility on Wednesday morning and broke the main gate to flee.

Superintendent of Police Laldhwaj Subedi confirmed that all prisoners have broken out of the jail, the news portal added.

The Kathmandu Post newspaper said more than 500 inmates escaped from the Nawalparasi West District Prison in southern Nepal.

“Prisoners at the district jail in Nawalparasi West have escaped after they set fires and raised slogans demanding release inside the prison,” the newspaper said.

Despite efforts to control them, most inmates managed to flee, it added.

In Kathmandu, a prisoner who attempted to escape from Dillibazar Jail was captured by local youths and handed over to the Nepali Army.

Several inmates escaped from Rajbiraj prison in Saptari after setting fire inside the facility on Wednesday afternoon.

Despite security personnel firing multiple rounds of tear gas to control the situation, some inmates managed to flee. The prison housed 397 inmates at the time of the incident, officials said.

In Parsa, inmates had attempted to escape Birgunj prison by breaking a large hole in the southern wall of the facility.

Prison chief Khemraj Bhusal said the situation was brought under control after hours of effort by security personnel.

“According to a video circulating on social media, the inmate had broken through a windowpane to flee the prison premises. Witnesses said locals chased him down after spotting him running away,” news portal KhabarHub said.

The detainee was restrained by residents before being handed over to security forces stationed nearby, it said, without specifying if the incident occurred on Tuesday or Wednesday.

In another incident, at least 36 prisoners escaped from a jail in Chandanath Municipality-6, Jumla, a district in the hilly terrain of western Nepal, the news portal said.

According to police, the escape occurred at 12:02 am on Wednesday when the prisoners reportedly hit the jail warden with a wooden rod and broke the main gate to flee.

DSP Rabin Babu Regmi, the chief of police in Jumla, said the search for the escaped prisoners is ongoing.

“The jail held 98 inmates in total, of whom 36 have escaped, while 62 remain in police custody. A total of 15 soldiers have been deployed under the Nepal Army command to secure the jail,” the news report said