Three juveniles detained in separate murder cases escaped from the safety house of the बाल सुधार गृह in Faridabad’s NIT-5 area on Saturday evening, allegedly after removing a rusted iron grille from a bathroom window. Police teams have begun searching for them and are examining CCTV footage to establish their route out of the facility.
According to a complaint filed by the juvenile home administration with NIT police, the three teenagers were found missing during the facility’s routine headcount at around 10 pm on Saturday. Staff searched the safety house before informing the police, after which teams from the police station and the crime branch were deployed to locate them.
The initial inquiry found that the three juveniles had reached a bathroom on the ground floor. The iron grille fitted to its window was reportedly in a deteriorated condition because of rust. The teenagers allegedly loosened it by moving it repeatedly and then removed it to exit towards a Municipal Corporation nursery located on the other side of the building. The report said no security guard was present at the spot when they left the premises.
The three juveniles, each reportedly around 17 years old, had been housed at the facility for nearly three years in connection with separate murder cases. One is from Gurugram district, another from Nuh and the third from Hisar, according to the report. Police are collecting information about their possible contacts and destinations and are checking the routes they may have taken after leaving the facility.
NIT police station house officer Mahavir said the police had received a complaint from the juvenile home. Investigators are reviewing CCTV footage to identify the direction in which the three juveniles escaped. They are also examining how the window grille could be removed so easily and where security personnel were positioned at the time of the incident.
The Faridabad facility’s safety house is used to accommodate older juveniles and those accused in serious criminal cases. Juveniles are brought there from districts across Haryana, and the facility has a reported capacity of about 200 residents. Another safety house has been completed in Hisar, according to the report.
The incident is not the first reported security breach at the facility. In 2016, five juveniles reportedly restrained a head warden by locking him inside a room before escaping. They were later apprehended by the police. The current search will continue as investigators review surveillance footage, examine the damaged window and determine the responsibility of staff deployed at the facility.
