Four prisoners escape from Madhya Pradesh jail

Neemuch: Four prisoners, including two

convicted for smuggling drugs and others facing trials in murder and rape cases, escaped from a jail in Neemuch district of Madhya Pradesh on Sunday, police said.

As per preliminary investigation, the four prisoners - Nar Singh (20), Pankaj Mongia (21) (both from Rajasthan), and Lekh Ram (29) and Dubey Lal (19) - cut the iron rod of their barrack at the sub-jail located in Kanavati area, just about 5 km from the district headquarters.

They then threw a rope across the 22-feet-tall boundary wall of the jail, climbed it with the help of some outside support and sneaked out of the prison compound, jailor R P Vasunai told PTI.

Singh, hailing from Udaipur, and Mongia, belonging to Chittor, were earlier convicted under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and facing different imprisonments.

Ram, a native of neighbouring Mandsaur district in MP, was being tried in a case of loot and murder, while Lal, a resident of the state's Mandla district, was facing trial in a rape case, Vasunai said.

State Director General (Prisons) Sanjay Choudhary declared a bounty of Rs 50,000 on each of the four.