Special: Hunt begins for serial rapist

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Bengaluru: Did he escape after scaling the more than 20-foot-high prison walls fitted with electric fences and embedded glass pieces or did he walk away from the high security prison with the alleged help of the prison staff, who helped him get a duplicate key?
Even as the prison department has instituted an inquiry into the shocking “do or die” escape of the dreaded serial rapist and murderer M. Jaishankar on the night of August 31, questions are being raised at the way he is said to have escaped one of the most secured prisons in the country.
According to sources, Jaishankar had managed to get a duplicate key of the cell inside the psychiatric ward in the prison, where he was lodged with another mentally ill convict. How did he get access to the duplicate aluminum key, which was found by the prison officials much after he had escaped?
“Jaishankar may have got an imprint of the original Godrej key on soap and would have handed it over to an insider or to an escort policeman, who helped him get a duplicate key in return of some favour,” said an official source.
Nobody knows the exact time of Jaishankar’s escape. “The other inmate also said he didn’t know when and how he escaped from the cell,” he added.
A 20-foot-long wooden poll meant for centering purpose was incidentally kept near the prison hospital, which Jaishankar used to scale the high walls at a time when there was no electricity and it was pouring heavily. He is also said to have used a bed sheet and a waist belt to help him climb the walls. “He is a hardened criminal and must have planned his escape much in advance.
But it is not easy to climb such high walls. Was it sheer coincidence that there was no electricity the night he escaped? Or was the alleged blackout part of the escape plan?” asked the officer.
Jaishankar, accused in over 26 rape cases, murder and dacoity in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, had never betrayed any signs of mental illness, said another official source.
“He always looked normal and composed. Whenever asked about his criminal past, he would always deny his involvement,” he said.
 
Rs 5 lakh reward announced 
The state government has ann­ounced a reward of Rs 5 lakh for information on notorious serial rapist M. Jaishankar al­i­as M. Sankar, who esc­aped from the high-sec­urity Parappana Agra­hara Central Jail, early on Sun­day morning.
Home Minister K.J. Ge­orge, who visited the jail along with a team of senior police officers on Monday, announced the reward. George said that special teams have been formed to trace Ja­is­hankar under the su­pervision of Joint Com­missioner of Police (Law and Order) B.K. Singh. Police officers, who had investigated cases aga­inst the rapist, will also be part of the team.
Initial information fr­om the prison departme­nt revealed that the convict managed to escape because of the neglige­nce of some jail officials. The home secretary is conducting an inquiry into the incident. The th­eory that Jaishankar us­ed a duplicate key to get ouf of his cell would be confirmed only after the investigation, Ge­orge said.
The jail will install biometric locking system in cells holding convicts. A decision on inst­alling hi­gh­-­surveillance CCTV ca­m­eras would be taken im­m­ediately after verifying the products of a US-based company, the ho me minister said.
The police have issued a lookout notice to prevent Jaish­ankar from leaving the country. A connecting wall – wh­ich ran perpendicular to the separating wall in the middle of the main outer perimeter, measuring 30 feet in height and 12-15 fe­et in length – has been razed following instructions from ADGP (Pri­sons) K.V. Gagandeep.
Jai­sh­ankar crossed this wall to reach the outer pe­rimeter of the jail before escaping, the pol­ice had said on Sunday.
The serial rapist’s photographs have been dispatched to all hospitals in the state, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The police suspect that Ja­i­shankar was injured while walking on glass pi­eces embedded on the wall, and that he could go to a hospital for treatment.
Police stations in Bij­apur, Chitradurga and Tu­m­kur have launched search operations. Pol­ice forces in the neighbouring states too have been informed.
The police notice says that Jaishankar can speak fluently in Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, Tel­ugu and Kannada. For pa­ssing on any information, the public can call Parappana Agrahara po­lice station – 080- 22943468 and 9480801627 or South East police control room – 080-22943482 or 100.
Next: Cops keep vigil at Jaishankar’s village

Cops keep vigil at Jaishankar’s village
H. Zakeer Hussain | DC
Salem: Tension prevailed in the tiny hamlet of Kanni­ya­mpatti in Edappadi tal­uk in Salem district as doz­ens of police personnel ma­i­ntained vigil over the ho­me of the notorious serial killer and rapist Jais­ha­nkar (35), who escaped fr­om the Parappana Agr­ahara Central Jail in Ben­galuru early on Sunday.
Shankar’s wife Para­me­swari (30) and their three dau­ghters Jamuna Devi (11), Thenmozhi (7) and Pr­e­­mavathi (5) live in a modest home in Kann­iya­mpatti and barely manage to ma­ke ends meet. Par­ameswari works at a tailoring unit nearby, while the children go to a government higher secondary sc­h­ool in the same village.
Though the police believe that Jaishankar might try to make contact with his wi­fe and children, or at le­ast his mother Pala­ni­am­mal, who also lives in the village, and have beefed up security, locals point out that this was highly unlikely.
“He had not visited his chi­l­dren even once when he escaped from the Coi­mbatore prison in 2011. The family has completely lost touch with him and are only angry with the man for causing more trouble to their already disturbed life,” a close family member of Parameswari said.
The notorious serial kil­ler is involved in at least 19 criminal cases in Tamil Nadu including rape and murder of a woman police constable several years ago at Peramanallur, for which he was arrested and lodged in Coimbatore jail. He esc­aped from the police while on way to a Dharmapuri court on March 18, 2011.
Armed reserve police constable Chinnasamy, who was duped by the convict and was suspended for his negligence, committed suicide a few days later.
Senior police officials in Tamil Nadu claimed that they had taken all measures to ensure that the serial rapist would be nabbed soon.
“We have formed special teams in each of the western districts and are constantly monitoring the situation. We are also keeping a watch on his family to see if Jaishankar tries to contact them,” said Salem zonal DIG Sanjay Kumar.
Jaishankar was due to appear at the Salem principal district judge court on Tuesday in connection with his first murder, that of Indira Gandhi, the wife of a constable, on May 9, 2008.