Bangalore: Did jail politics help rapist 'psycho Shankar' escape?

Bangalore: It has been four days since the serial rapist and killer Psycho Shankar's daring escape from the high security central prison in Bangalore. The women are living in terror. But the police have not been able to trace him. According a state intelligence report, cold war between the lower grade jail guards and senior prison officials led to his easy escape.

Even though nobody in the government is admitting it, the factionalism at the central jail is a very well known fact. A jail superintendent committed suicide a few years ago and many others have been suspended or transferred on the charges of negligence or corruption in the recent years.

According to reports, six guards who were on security duty at the jail hospital, where 'psycho Shankar', as he's is called, was being treated were sleeping on Saturday night. A faction led by a senior jail official had problems with some other senior officials and was waiting for a chance to settle personal scores with them. Psycho Shankar had a thorough knowledge of jail's security arrangements and layout.

The central prison at Parappana Agrahara, close to the Electronics City is known as a modern jail. However, it has always been in the news for the wrong reasons. The jail officials who belong to different castes take sides and even favour the inmates from their caste, said a police officer, who earlier worked there.

Psycho Shankar was categorised as a high-risk convict and was always under the watch. His escape in a dramatic style has sent shock waves across the jail administration and a few more heads are expected to roll.

The police team headed by Joint Commissioner of Police BK Singh is looking for him all over Karnataka as well as in the neighbouring states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. They are also taking the help of Tumkur, Chitradurga and Bijapur district police, where Psycho Shankar had earlier been accused of rapes and murders.

The prison is just 10 km from the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border and the police are suspecting that he is hiding somewhere there. The Tamil Nadu police are also on high alert and conducting raids and random checks at various places. An embarrassed Home Minister of Karnataka, KJ George, is believed to have taken top police officials to task.