Assam: Haflong sub-jail officers suspended after Ex-DNLT cadre escapes, probe ordered

A major security lapse has rocked the Dima Hasao district after a prisoner, identified as Betsing Zidung alias Khurang Dimasa, a former Dimasa National Liberation Tigers (DNLT) cadre, escaped from the Haflong Sub-Jail around 12 noon on Wednesday, November 5.

Despite continuous search operations for over 24 hours, police have failed to locate the fugitive, prompting serious questions over the safety and surveillance mechanisms at the correctional facility.

In the wake of the incident, Jailor Kalyan Kumar and a warder of the Haflong Sub-Jail have been placed under suspension pending a full investigation.

According to official sources, Home Secretary Diganta Bora and DIG (Prisons) Gautam Bora have arrived in Haflong to oversee an on-ground inquiry into the circumstances that led to the escape.

The escape has sparked widespread concern as two high-profile undertrials — Amritprabha Mahanta and Shekhar Jyoti Goswami — both accused in the Zubeen Garg murder case, are currently lodged in the same jail.

Security experts and local residents have expressed alarm over the lack of stringent security infrastructure at the facility, questioning the decision to house sensitive and high-profile inmates in a sub-jail that allegedly lacks adequate surveillance and manpower.

Authorities have assured that a high-level probe is underway, and efforts are being intensified to track down the absconding prisoner and identify lapses that led to the breach.