Six undertrials escape from juvenile home in Noida, all held

Noida: Six undertrials lodged at the COVID-19 isolation ward of a juvenile home in Noida escaped from the facility but were nabbed again within 48 hours, police said on Sunday.

The juveniles were brought to the facility recently and had been lodged at the isolation centre in view of the COVID-19 outbreak. They escaped on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, the police said.

As a precautionary measure, all new inmates brought to the juvenile home are lodged at the isolation ward, which has been set up within the campus, for some days, according to officials.

The juveniles had "folded the iron sheet of a gate" to sneak out of the facility, located in Phase 2 police station area, the officials said.

"Three of them were held in no time. Of the three who did manage to escape, two have been apprehended and one is still absconding," Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, Central Noida, Ankur Aggarwal had said earlier.Later on Sunday night, the district police said, "The last absconding juvenile has also been held."

The three undertrials who had escaped are aged between 15 and 17. They were brought to the juvenile home on July 29.

One of them was held on Saturday night near the NSEZ metro station, the second was held on Sunday from Bhangel village and the third held near Kulesara village on Sunday night, the officials said.

"An FIR has been registered against the minors who had escaped from the juvenile home and further proceedings are underway," Aggarwal

said.

The FIR was lodged under sections 223 (escape from confinement or custody) and 224 (resistance or obstruction by a person to his lawful apprehension) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) after a complaint was received from the superintendent of the juvenile home, the police said.