Eight prisoners escape from Dolpa jail through tunnel

Eight inmates have escaped from the District Prison in Dunai, the district headquarters of Dolpa, through a tunnel dug in the ground. The escape has raised questions about security at a prison under round-the-clock surveillance.

The case is wider than a single night's lapse. According to District Chief Officer Junu Hamal, the escape came just three days after the prison's duty in-charge was replaced following a drug trafficking incident at the facility. Hamal has framed the problem as one of security management and monitoring as a whole, not only individual negligence, with the duty roster and the state of CCTV cameras now under review.

A three-member committee has been formed to investigate how the escape happened. It is led by Inspector Binay Singh, with one representative from the District Administration Office in Dolpa and one staff member of the National Investigation Department. Deputy Superintendent of Police Anil Raj Giri, chief of the District Police Office in Dolpa, said details will become clear only after the committee submits its report.

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Early findings describe a planned route out: the inmates broke through structures along the inner wall and outer compound and dug around a septic tank that lay in their path. Police believe the inmates appeared to be in their normal state until 10 pm, and then began digging, apparently using a rod. The escape came to light at the 6 am headcount on Saturday, when eight of the prison's 17 inmates were found missing. The incident itself took place on the night of October 30.

The escaped inmates are Kaliprasad Rokaya, 29, of Tripurasundari Municipality-7; Hari Bahadur Budha, also known as Dhan Bahadur, 28, of Tripurasundari-4; Yagya BK, 25, of Borekot Rural Municipality-1; Tilak Bhandari, 38, of Athbiskot Municipality-5, West Rukum; Ram Bahadur Kami, 32, of Aathbiskot-10; Resham Rana, 28, of Kumakh Rural Municipality-5, Salyan; Kapil Pariyar, also known as Kailash, 19, of Nalgad Municipality-9, Jajarkot; and Adesh Bhandari, also known as Nishan, 32, of Aathbiskot-3.

Five of the eight were serving sentences in rape cases and three were involved in theft cases. Six were serving prison sentences, while two were being held pending trial.

All eight are still at large. Police have been deployed to search for them, their photographs have been circulated to possible transit points, and officials say a central team is also being prepared to join the search.

What the investigation must now answer is how a tunnel could be dug unnoticed in a guarded prison, why the change of duty in-charge did not tighten oversight, and whether the weaknesses were in staffing, surveillance, or both.