Govindachamy Escapes from Kannur Central Jail, Caught from Well in Thalapp

Kannur: Govindachamy, a convict serving a life sentence in a sensational 2011 rape and murder case, escaped from the Kannur Central Jail early Thursday but was apprehended within five hours from a well in a private property at Thalapp, Kannur. The Deputy Prison Officer (DPO) and three other Assistant Prison Officers were suspended following the jailbreak.

The jailbreak came to light around 7 am. By 9:15 am, a local resident reported seeing a man without one hand walking along the road. When the resident called out to him, the man, later identified as Govindachamy, attempted to flee by climbing a wall. At the time, he was wearing a black shirt and pants and had a small beard.

CCTV footage revealed that the convict escaped between 4:15 am and 6:30 am by scaling the compound wall using a rope made of clothes. Once his absence was noticed, prison authorities launched an immediate search operation in and around the jail premises.

Kannur SP Nidhinraj P thanked the public, police teams, and media for their timely assistance in locating the fugitive and preventing him from escaping the state.

Govindachamy was initially sentenced to death, but the Supreme Court later commuted the sentence. While it upheld the life term for rape, the murder conviction was reduced to a seven-year sentence. His continued imprisonment is based on the life sentence.

Reacting to the incident, the victim’s mother questioned how such a high-profile convict managed to escape without internal assistance. She reiterated her long legal battle, including efforts at the Supreme Court, to secure his conviction. “No mother should undergo the pain I have,” she said, adding that Govindachamy deserves capital punishment.

The victim, a 23-year-old woman from Manjakkad near Shornur, was raped and murdered while travelling alone on a passenger train from Ernakulam to Shornur on 1 February 2011. The case had shocked the nation and sparked a widespread debate on the safety of women in public transport.