Gang breaks into Yanam prison to eliminate Pondy criminal; 13 held

Rajahmundry: Fourteen members of a gang from Pondicherry broke into the Yanam special sub-jail in the early hours of Thursday in an attempt to kill an inmate and notorious criminal belonging to Pondicherry, but were overpowered by the prison staff and police. Thirteen of them have been nabbed by the police, though the mastermind of the attack is at large.

According to Yanam SP Purushottaman, Manikantan alias ‘Murder Manikantan’, an accused in several cases in Pondicherry, who has been lodged in the Yanam sub-jail for security reasons, has rivalry with another criminal, Shankar, lodged in the Karaikal prison. Manikantan murdered Shankar’s friend named Jagan. Shankar then hatched a plan to eliminate Manikantan in Yanam prison itself. This task was assigned to Ashwin Kumar alias Ashwin.

A 14-member team, led by Ashwin, arrived in Ramachandrapuram, East Godavari, on August 26th. They were staying in lodge and executed their plan at about 5 am on Thursday. Ten members of the gang scaled the 20-foot wall of the sub-jail with the help of long ladder and 100- meter-long nylon rope. They entered the prison with chilli powder in packets, along with 10 litres of petrol in cans and pouches. They first noticed a warden, Shekar, who was on the duty at that time, tied his hands with a rope, and put a plaster on his mouth. They asked Shekar for the key of the cell where Manikantan was lodged, but the warden said he did not have the key.

Meanwhile, another warden named Selvan observed the situation and alerted the prison authorities who informed the police. The police arrested 13 persons and shifted them to Pondicherry for security reasons. It is learnt that Manikantan, and other criminals, including Karna, Sani Bhogi and Sri Kumar, were originally shifted to the Yanam sub-jail from the Talapeta prison in Pondicherry for security reasons. These notorious criminals are accused in many cases in Pondicherry.