Faridabad jail blunder: Rape accused mistakenly released instead of another prisoner with same name
In a major security lapse, authorities of a jail in Faridabad inadvertently released a 27-year-old man accused of raping a minor boy by confusing him with another inmate who had a similar name and father's name.
The second inmate, who is also lodged in Neemka jail in Faridabad, had secured bail on May 26 in a trespassing and assault case, the police said on Friday.
Nitesh Pandey, arrested in October 2021 for allegedly raping a nine-year-old boy in Sector 58, was erroneously freed on Tuesday instead of another inmate named Nitesh, 24, a resident of Shastri Colony, Faridabad, who was arrested on May 24. Both men have fathers named Ravinder, leading to the mix-up.
The police have launched a search for Pandey, a resident of Patna, Bihar, who was booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 377 (unnatural sex), 506 (criminal intimidation), and Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act. His bail plea was rejected in 2022, and his trial was underway.
'Right now, our priority is to catch Pandey, then we can know in detail how he managed to escape,' a police spokesperson said.
The error was discovered when the second Nitesh, still in custody, inquired about his release. Records were soon examined, which revealed that Pandey had been released instead.
A First Information Report (FIR) was filed against Pandey on Wednesday at Ballabhgarh Sadar police station under sections 262 (obstructing lawful apprehension) and 319 (cheating by personation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
'Undertrial prisoner Nitish Pandey … who, knowing that there are no bail papers in his name, concealed his identity and got himself released in the name of another prisoner,' the complaint by Vikram Gill, Faridabad Jail Superintendent, read.
The Indian Express tried to contact Gill for comments and updates on the case. As of now, it is yet to be confirmed whether the other Nitesh who secured bail has been released.
'Two teams, one from ours and another from the BPTP station, are working to apprehend Pandey. Responsibility for taking action against jail officials and any potential involvement of staff is not in our ambit; that will be determined through the jail authorities' internal inquiry,' said Inspector Umesh Kumar, station house officer of the Ballabhgarh Sadar police station.
Despite being charged with different offences, both individuals were housed in the same section of the jail as they were undertrial prisoners, according to the police .
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