Kannur: In a highly dramatic climax to a swift manhunt, escaped rape-murder convict Govindachamy was today pulled out of a well by the Kerala Police, bringing his brief freedom to an abrupt end. The notorious individual, who fled Kannur Central Jail in the early hours today, was recaptured in less than 10 hours, following a desperate attempt to jump into the water body near an abandoned building premises.
The rape and murder convict was not in jail clothes. He also has only one arm, making his spotting easy for locals and CCTV footage, even though he tried to hide his arm stump in the pocket of his pants.
The intensive search for Govindachamy, convicted in the 2011 Soumya rape and murder case, reached its conclusion with a combination of alert public and rapid police response.
After being traced to an abandoned building near Kannur, Govindachamy made a desperate attempt to evade capture by jumping into a nearby well.
Even as media cameras were rolling live, the police worked to pull the one-armed convict out of the well, securing him after his bold escape bid.
The breakthrough came thanks to alert local residents who reported seeing a man matching Govindachamy's description, leading police to his hideout.
The recapture, occurring within hours of his escape being detected around 4:00 am, highlights the effectiveness of the police's coordinated efforts.
Govindachamy is now securely back in police custody, ending the frantic search and calming public concerns that had erupted following the jailbreak.
Govindachamy's escape from the high-security Kannur Central Jail earlier today had triggered widespread criticism regarding security lapses. Initial reports suggested he used blankets to scale the jail wall and possibly cut through jail bar, despite his physical disability. Suspicions of a power cut and deactivated electric fencing at the time of the escape have also been raised, pointing towards a need for thorough investigation into prison protocols.
While the dramatic recapture provides immediate relief, the authorities are expected to launch a comprehensive inquiry into the precise circumstances that allowed a high-profile convict to breach the prison's security in the first place.
The Kerala High Court in December 2013 had upheld a fast-track court's decision that Govindachamy had robbed and pushed 23-year-old Soumya, a native of Shoranur, off the Ernakulam-Shoranur passenger train on February 1, 2011.
She was raped and brutally thrashed. Soumya was found by the Railway police near a track. She succumbed to her injuries at the Government Medical College in Thrissur on February 6, 2011.
At that time, Govindachamy had already been convicted in eight cases in his native state, Tamil Nadu.
The fast-track court in 2012 awarded a death sentence to the accused, considering him a habitual offender and holding that the brutal rape was one of the reasons for the victim's death and that the nature of the crime was so savage that it shocked society.
The High Court had upheld the death sentence two years later, against which he moved the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court in 2016 commuted the death sentence of Govindachamy to a seven-year jail term after dropping the murder charge against him, but the life sentence was upheld.
With inputs from IANS
