Three dead in clashes in Nepal prison, over 15,000 inmates escape from different jails amid unrest

Kathmandu: At least three inmates died during clashes with security personnel in a Nepal jail on Thursday while more than 15,000 prisoners escaped from more than two dozen prisons across the country since the violent anti-government protests erupted in the Himalayan nation.

These latest deaths take the number of inmates who died during clashes with security forces to eight since violence erupted on Tuesday as part of the massive anti-government demonstrations led by Gen Z group across Nepal.

The violent agitation forced prime minister K P Sharma Oli to resign on Tuesday, following which the Nepal Army imposed restrictions due to a serious law and order situation across provinces.

On Thursday morning, three inmates were killed and 13 others injured after a violent clash broke out between prisoners and security personnel at the Ramechhap district prison in Madhesh province, the police source said.

The confrontation began when inmates attempted to break out of the facility by causing an explosion using a gas cylinder. Security forces opened fire in order to regain control when three of the inmates were killed, the source said.

The injured were taken to Ramechhap District Hospital, police said.

Since the violence erupted on Tuesday, more than two dozen prisons across the country witnessed clashes and breaks with mass escapes with thousands of inmates fleeing amid arson attacks and riots, a media report said Thursday.

“The jailbreaks began when youth protesters stormed multiple prison facilities, setting administrative buildings ablaze and forcing open prison gates. By Wednesday evening, preliminary reports confirmed that over 15,000 inmates had fled from more than 25 prisons, with only a fraction returning voluntarily or being rearrested,” newspaper The Kathmandu Post said, quoting police.

In Gandaki province, the Kaski District Prison which saw 773 escapees, jailor Rajendra Sharma said among the escapees were 13 Indian nationals and four other foreigners.

The Department of Prison Management stated that it was still compiling final figures from all provinces, the news report said. Director General Lila Prasad Sharma confirmed that security forces—including the Nepal Army, Armed Police Force, and Nepal Police—had been deployed nationwide to re-arrest escapees and restore order.

“We are mobilising all available resources to re-arrest them as quickly as possible,” the Kathmandu Post quoted DG Sharma as saying.

Earlier, five juvenile inmates died in a clash with security personnel at the Naubasta Correctional Home in Naubasta Regional Jail located in Baijnath Rural Municipality-3 of Banke in western Nepal on Tuesday night.

The five juvenile inmates were killed and four were seriously injured when police opened fire during a clash that broke out when inmates tried to take over the weapons of security personnel of the correctional home, the Naubasta Juvenile Correctional Home office said.

Among the major prison escapees listed by the newspaper were the Banke Juvenile Reform Centre (122), the Banke District Prison (436), and Kathmandu Valley’s Central Jail in Sundhara (3,300), Nakkhu Prison in Lalitpur (1,400) and Dillibazar Prison (1100).

Other facilities included Mahottari’s Jaleshwar Prison (575), Jhumka Prison in Sunsari (1,575), Chitwan (700), Kapilvastu District Prison (459), Kailali Prison (612), Kanchanpur (478) and Sindhuli Prison (500), the news report added.

Meanwhile, India’s paramilitary force, Sashatra Seema Bal (SSB), on Thursday took control of 13 prisoners near Bairganiya check point as they were trying to cross over the southern border, according to the Nepal Police source.

They were among the scores of prisoners who broke the Gaur prison in Rautahat district near the India-Nepal border.

“They will be handed over to the Nepal Police after following due process,” the source said.

Out of 291 prisoners, who were serving their sentences, almost 260 broke from the jail in the wake of the Gen Z protests. Police brought back only 31 of them, 13 were apprehended by the Indian forces and remaining 216 are still absconding, the source added.