Saidabad:15 juvenile inmates flee observation home

Hyderabad: Fifteen juveniles escaped from an observation home in Saidabad on late on Saturday night. It is suspected that two of the boys stole a two-wheeler belonging to the village revenue officer (VRO) parked in the vicinity by hot-wiring it, an act which was recorded in the community CCTV cameras.

According to the police, each of the minors is reportedly involved in more than five cases. One of the minors was found alone in the city on Sunday evening. 

The boys slipped out by cutting the iron grills of the window using a hacksaw blade. “The boys used the blade to cut two of the window grills and escaped,” said Saidabad inspector K. Sattaiah.. 

“We got a call around 2:45 am from the duty guards that the boys were missing and we reached the place around 3 am,” said a juvenile home employee. “Out of the 66 boys, 15 were reported missing. We checked their names and informed the Juvenile Justice Board and also police stations from where the boys were sent here,” he said. 

When asked about the negligence, he said that the place was overcrowded. “Earlier we had 25-30 boys here and the headcount has now gone up to 60-70. All the preventive measures were taken,” he said.

Village revenue officer Ramulu, whose two-wheeler was stolen, said that he found the vehicle missing in the morming. “I thought my son might have taken it out but when he said he did not, I approached my neighbour, Sai, who has CC cameras installed in our locality.”

He said footage from the cameras showd a group of boys crossing the place. “Two of them came back and took 30 seconds to start the bike and take it away,” Mr Ramulu said. Police was called in, and they took the CCTV footage.

“We are yet to verify if the boys in the video were the same group that escaped,” inspector Sattaiah said. He said one boy had been traced, and a hunt was on to nab the rest.

Two supervisors and a superintendent were reportedly suspended by the director of the Juvenile Home, Saidabad.