What's in a name? Just ask Nitish, and Nitesh: How a name twin fooled jail officials, walked out free as other waited despite bail in Faridabad
Faridabad: The devil is in the details. Authorities at the district jail have learnt it the hard way.
In a bizarre case of mistaken identity that left the jail officials red-faced, a rape accused managed to walk free by exploiting a coincidence of names, exposing glaring lapses in the prison's verification system.
The incident unfolded on May 26, when Nitish Kumar Pandey (27) — housed in the jail since 2011 — posed as another inmate sharing a similar name. Both inmates had their fathers named as Ravinder in prison records — a detail that became the perfect smokescreen for the escape.
Pandey, originally from Kalyanpur village in Bihar's Patna, had been in custody facing serious charges under
Pocso Act
for allegedly raping a nine-year-old boy in Faridabad's Sector 58.
His namesake — 24-year-old Nitesh (with an 'e', not 'i') — was merely facing charges of house trespass and physical assault. It was Nitesh — and not Nitish — who had been granted bail by the district court on May 26.
By the time the deception came to light, 48 hours had passed. Desperately awaiting freedom, Nitesh asked the cops why he hadn't been released despite a court order granting him bail two days earlier. But Pandey had vanished by then, triggering an emergency security alert and sending the authorities in a tizzy for the oversight.
by Taboola
by Taboola
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"Yes, basic verification procedures were clearly ignored. Despite different addresses and case histories, our security staff failed to cross-check the inmates' identities properly," said a senior police officer.
While Pandey had his Patna address in jail records, Nitesh was a resident of Shastri Colony in Old Faridabad.
Unlike the detection, the fallout of the security lapse was swift. Two jail officials responsible for verifying identities were suspended and an internal inquiry ordered.
The jail administration didn't rule out the possibility of insider role either.
"We are scanning CCTV footage to find out how such a massive breach happened. There is a high chance that the jail staff connived with Pandey. But we will know more only after a detailed inquiry," the officer added.
Pandey, whose previous bail application was rejected in Oct 2022 by additional sessions judge Jasmine Sharma, now faces additional charges following a complaint against him lodged by jail deputy superintendent Vikram Kumar.
A fresh FIR was lodged against him at Sadar Ballabhgarh police station under sections 262 (obstructing lawful apprehension) and 319 (cheating by personation) of BNS.
Umesh Kumar, the SHO of Sadar Ballabhgarh, said a police team had been sent to Patna to track Pandey. "His family said they had no information about him. Multiple teams are working to track him down. We hope to arrest him soon," he added. Nitesh, meanwhile, walked out free after jail officials corrected the records. "Release procedures will come under strict scrutiny from now," the police officer said.
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