2008 Ahmedabad serial blast accused digs an 18-ft tunnel in prison

Jail authorities foil the bid to escape, file FIR

A bid to escape from Sabarmati Central Jail here by the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blast accused was foiled after the prison authorities found an 18-feet long tunnel dug by them behind their barracks.

The tunnel was found behind the toilet of barrack no. 4 where 14 accused in the 2008 serial blast were lodged. Jail Inspector General P C Thakur said that three persons confessed before him that they had dug up the tunnel.

"When I asked the inmates of the barrack about the tunnel, three of them confessed that they had dug it. They all are engineers, one is a mechanical engineer, while other two are civil engineers," Thakur told reporters outside the Sabarmati Central Jail. He further added that the jail was built during British period and it was impossible for a prisoner to escape by digging a tunnel under the prison walls.

Thakur refused to divulge the names of the accused as the matter was under investigation. "An FIR has been filed by jail authorities and investigation was on to find out the accused and where the security lapses took place," jail superintendent R J Pargi said.

The tunnel was discovered by the jail authorities during routine checking in the barracks. They found the earth behind the toilets of barrack no.4 was soft. The prisoners had been cultivating a small garden on a small plot behind the toilet.

"Further probe by the jail authorities revealed that the tunnel was 18-feet long and high enough for a man to crawl through it," jail authorities said. According to them the accused would have been working on the tunnel for over two months.

Those prisoners involved in the digging of tunnel are accused in the July 26, 2008, serial blast in Ahmedabad which had claimed life of 57 persons and left several others injured.

The Ahmedabad crime branch, probing the case have made arrests from 11 states and most of those arrested are facing trials in different cases in various courts outside Gujarat. As many as 68 accused in the case have been arrested and trial against them was going on inside the prison due to security reasons.

Some of the accused arraigned in cases from other states are being tried through video conferencing. More than 35 FIRs were filed after the serial blast in 2008. Over 24 accused in the case are still absconding, including masterminds Amir Raza Khan, Riyaz Bhatkal and Iqbal Bhatkal.