Even though the two Pakistani nationals who escaped from the RS Pura Juvenile Home have been handed over to the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police for further questioning, officials managing the facility are likely to face action for failing to shift inmates who had already attained adulthood.
The two Pakistani detainees who managed to escape had crossed the age limit for being housed in a juvenile facility but were not transferred to jail, a lapse that has now come under sharp scrutiny.
Fresh revelations during the probe indicate that the accused had been closely monitoring the functioning of the facility for several days. As part of their plan, the inmates even attempted to disable the CCTV network inside the juvenile home. While they succeeded in shutting down some cameras, the internal surveillance system remained functional and captured the entire sequence of events.
The incident has exposed serious negligence on the part of both the police and the Social Welfare Department, which oversees the juvenile home. Although the facility is run by the district administration under the department's supervision, security arrangements were found to be grossly inadequate on the part of the Jammu and Kashmir Police.
Officials admitted that the outer boundary wall of the juvenile home was damaged, yet no timely repairs were carried out, making it easy for inmates to scale the wall and escape. The most glaring lapse, however, was that the two Pakistani nationals and a member of the Khauf gang, Karanjit Singh alias Gugga, were not shifted to jail despite having attained adulthood.
As per rules, adult offenders must be moved out of juvenile facilities. However, due to alleged negligence, they continued to remain lodged in the juvenile home and eventually exploited the security gaps to escape. Both Pakistani nationals have since been recaptured.
Sources revealed that local intelligence agencies had earlier written to senior officers recommending the immediate transfer of Karanjit Singh alias Gugga — who faces 11 criminal cases across multiple police stations — from the juvenile home to a regular jail. The agencies had flagged that Gugga had become an adult and posed a significant security risk if kept in a juvenile facility.
However, the inputs were reportedly ignored by senior officials. Gugga's escape has not only raised serious questions over police functioning but has also triggered fresh concerns about overall security management in the district.
Rearrested Pakistani nationals handed over to SOG
Reports said Mohammad Sanaullah (20) and Ahsan Anwar (21), both Pakistani nationals who were rearrested from Ambala on February 17, have been handed over to the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police for sustained questioning.
Along with Sanaullah and Anwar, a local youth identified as Rahul has also been handed over to the SOG after it emerged that he had allegedly provided a country-made pistol to the two Pakistani nationals.
As reported earlier, in a swift and coordinated operation, the Special Task Force (STF) of Haryana Police, in collaboration with the Jammu and Kashmir Police, rearrested the two Pakistani nationals within 24 hours of their dramatic escape from the Juvenile Observation Home in RS Pura, Jammu, on February 16.
