About 300 prisoners are said to have escaped from a jail in Dantewada in Chhattisgarh. The jailbreak, which was led by Maoists, highlights the lax security at prisons in the country. At least a third of those who escaped are Maoists. It appears that two prisoners – both hardcore Maoist rebels – overpowered the prison guards. They were then joined by other Maoists in the prison and before long 299 prisoners broke free from the jail. A search has been launched and three prisoners have been caught so far. But rounding up all those who escaped will be a formidable task as they are likely to have taken cover in the dense forests nearby. Police officials have blamed the jailbreak on a “pre-meditated conspiracy.” While the jailbreak was no doubt a well-planned operation, it is poor security in the jail that is to blame for the flood of prisoners who walked out on Sunday.

Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada region is a hot-bed of Maoist activity. One would have thought that jails there would have the tightest of security. Sunday’s jailbreak indicates that they did not. This is not the first jailbreak engineered by Maoists. The most audacious was in 2005, when hundreds of rebels laid siege to Jehanabad jail and helped 137 inmates, including many Maoists, walk free. At Dantewada, prisoners did not need rebels to lay siege to the jail in order to enable their escape. The Dantewada prisoners simply overpowered their guards and walked out.

Collusion of prison officials in the jailbreak cannot be ruled out. Several officials have been suspended. However, authorities need to look into a parallel problem. Police in the Dantewada region are said to be demoralized and over-worked. In contrast to the Maoists, the police are having to fight with antiquated weapons. Poor training, long working hours, low pay, no incentives and little recognition have contributed to low morale among security personnel battling the Maoists. The number of police personnel per 100,000 in Chhattisgarh is just 103, far less than the national average of 122. This does not mean that the Maoist problem can be resolved merely by increasing the number of policemen deployed or the provision of sophisticated weapons. However, short-staffed police stations and jails such as the one in Dantewada are making them sitting ducks for Maoist attacks. The government needs to address these issues if police and prison officials should be able to do their jobs well.