An investigation is underway in Mizoram after 16 convicts were released from jail using forged documents, prompting a manhunt and the formation of a special investigation team to uncover the extent of the fraud.
Over the past few months, 16 convicts got released from south Mizoram's Lunglei district jail, and nobody batted an eyelid. It was only last week that it came to light that the inmates were freed based on forged documents.
Spurred into action by the revelation, police apprehended 12 of those released convicts. Officials said an SIT has been formed to probe the lapse.
Jail authorities said the forgery of the documents was detected when officials at the Lunglei district and sessions court could not locate judicial records authorising the release of those inmates.
According to Lunglei Superintendent of Police, J Lalmuankima, 16 convicts serving jail terms of varying durations had walked out of the district jail using forged court orders and fabricated seals.
"Police launched a manhunt immediately after the forgery came to light with the filing of a police complaint on April 25. Twelve of the 16 released convicts have since been apprehended, while one died while on the run," he told PTI, adding the search for the remaining three was underway.
A four-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by Sub-Divisional Police Officer R Thankima, has been formed to probe into the fraud, the senior police officer said on Friday.
Lalmuankima said that preliminary investigation has identified 22-year-old jail inmate Jeremy Lalthangtura, already facing a litany of charges, including online fraud, as the mastermind behind the forgery.
He was remanded to police custody on Friday for questioning, the SP said.
According to the jail authorities, the fraud began early this year but remained undetected until last week.
The discrepancy surfaced when officials at the Lunglei district and sessions court were unable to locate records authorising the release of specific inmates, they said.
Following this discovery, a formal police complaint was filed.
Lunglei district jail deputy superintendent Lalruatsanga said that the counterfeit release orders had fabricated seals and a formatting that closely resembled authentic court directives.
"The documents appeared genuine and had passed initial scrutiny. The inmates were released because there is no scope for delay or questioning court orders by the prison administration," he said.