Thiruvananthapuram, July 25 : Former Union Minister and senior BJP leader V. Muraleedharan on Friday demanded that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan explain to the people how a dreaded criminal, Govindachamy, was able to escape from the high-security Kannur Prison.

"The common practice being followed by CM Vijayan is to go silent when an issue surfaces. But here in this grave issue, CM Vijayan has to explain to the people what happened," said Muraleedharan.

CM Vijayan is also the Home Minister. "There are a lot of issues that people need to know about this jailbreak. It remains to be seen if Govindachamy got help from both inside the prison and from outside," added Muraleedharan.

"This is a clear breach of security, and it was only after 7 p.m. that the jail authorities came to know about it. What happened to the CCTV in the jail? It has also come to light that the electric fence was disabled. Numerous such questions have to be answered," said Muraleedharan.

"With this, yet another system in Kerala has collapsed. Senior CPI-M leader P. Jayarajan is a member of the Jail Committee, and such posts are given to protect the interests of the CPI-M. The need of the hour is to see the jail mafia, which rules the jails in Kerala, be ousted," said Muraleedharan.

On Friday, people in Kerala woke up hearing the news that Govindachamy escaped from the Kannur Prison.

Govindachamy escaped from the high-security Kannur prison around 1.15 a.m. on Friday. This major lapse came to the notice of the jail authorities around 5 a.m. and was reported to the local Kannur police after two hours.

Reports said that at the time of the jailbreak, the power was switched off.

According to reports, a long rope made of clothes was seen hanging from the jail compound wall, which is more than 25 feet high.

Govindachamy's "escape" ended by around 10.30 a.m. when he was located hiding in a well about 4 km away from the prison.

The police officials pulled him out of the well, located on the premises of a closed house that had overgrown bushes. Angry locals, who were helping the police to pull him out, were seen slapping him too.

According to the police, they received an alert about a man hiding at a closed residential place near the jail in Kannur, from where he had escaped.

A sniffer dog also helped in making the arrest. The dog had travelled around 2 km from the jail towards the place where he was arrested.

When questioned, Govindachamy pointed out that he was planning the jailbreak for over a month and had smuggled out a blade used to cut iron rods from the jail workshop.

Govindachamy is also reported to have told the police that he had no qualms about escaping because even if he is caught, he would be brought back to prison, which was nothing new to him.

He was later taken to the state-run hospital for a medical check-up.

A fresh case will be registered against him for escaping from prison.

The police have decided to shift him from the Kannur Prison to the Viyyur jail in Thrissur district.

A probe has commenced on the security lapse in the Kannur jail, and four officials have been suspended.

Govindachamy was sentenced to life imprisonment for the rape and murder of a 23-year-old woman in 2011.

/IANS