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Kalaburagi: The Karnataka Prison Department on Wednesday, July 15, suspended eight prison officials, including the Superintendent of Kalaburagi Central Prison, following the dramatic escape of three convicted prisoners from the jail earlier this week. Director General of Prisons Alok Kumar issued the suspension orders, citing dereliction of duty and gross negligence by the officials responsible for prison security.

Those suspended include Prison Superintendent Rakesh Kamble, Assistant Superintendent B. Suresh, Jailer Shrimantgouda Patil and warders Ninganna, Yamanappa Kurubar, Basavaraj Metri, Savitri Talakeri and Azeem, all of whom were on duty during the night shift when the escape took place.

Meanwhile, police have succeeded in recapturing one of the escaped convicts, while the remaining two, identified as Mastan and Sagar, continue to be on the run. Search operations have been intensified with multiple police teams and drone surveillance being deployed in agricultural fields around Humnabad in neighbouring Bidar district to trace the fugitives.

Reacting to the incident, former Home Minister Araga Jnanendra described the prison break as “shocking” and accused the state government of failing to maintain discipline within the prison system. He recalled that strict action had been taken against officials during his tenure after inmates at Bengaluru Central Prison were found hosting parties inside the jail.

The BJP leader also criticised Home Minister Priyank Kharge, alleging that the government had failed to implement prison reforms and warning that repeated security lapses could undermine law and order in the state. He urged the government to initiate stringent corrective measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.