G L Bhagat, who is holding the additional charge of Secretary, Transport, said the I-G (Prisons) had been asked to submit a detailed report on the incident. He said once the report was submitted, the Government would decide what action to take.

However, DIG Prisons P C Thakur blamed the district armed guards who were on duty on Tuesday night. He pointed out that after sunset, jail security was the responsibility of district guards, adding that this was the general practice in all sub-jails. Thakur said once the security was handed over, no jail guard entered the jail premises.

Thakur said that after escaping from the barracks which are inter-linked, the prisoners jumped the wall. Then they broke the locks of two bikes. He said the six also managed to get a dhariya and other sharp weapons from a tractor.

According to Thakur, the barracks were old and had wooden frames, making it easier for the prisoners to bend the iron bars. He denied reports that all six prisoners were lodged in one barrack.

The DIG said the six managed to escape because the ten small enclosures were inter-linked. He also said that on the day of the jail break, there were about 143 prisoners as against a capacity of 100.

Regarding the inquiry, he said that since the incident occurred at night, the DSP should inquire into the matter and submit the report.