Kannur: A photo showing the cell where Soumya murder case convict Govindachamy was lodged in Kannur Central Prison has surfaced, raising serious concerns about security lapses within the facility.

The image accessed by Mathrubhumi News shows the steel bars that the convict Govindachamy allegedly cut through during his escape attempt on Sunday. 

The photo also shows that he had tied the bars with threads, an apparent attempt to conceal the damage while he worked on them. This visual evidence aligns with Govindachamy’s earlier testimony, in which he claimed he had been collecting salt daily to corrode the bars and spent several days sawing through them.

According to reports, Govindachamy cut through the bottom portion of the cell bars while lying down and covering himself with a blanket, which explains why the cuts were made at the lower section. 

Following his arrest on Friday, he had testified that the prison staff were on the phone all the time, and no one noticed him planning the escape. Despite being a high-security prison housing several notorious convicts, it is truly shocking that none of the prison staff noticed the extensive cutting of the bars, which took place over several days.

Meanwhile, some prison staff allege that authorities often fail to file cases even when inmates clash inside the facility. Nighttime inspections at Kannur Central Prison are reportedly lax, and although there is a directive to rotate prisoners between cells every three months, sources say this policy was not followed.

Govindachamy at solitary confinement in Viyyur

Following his arrest, Govindachamy was taken to the high-security jail in Thrissur. He was brought to the prison yard in a police van at 12.30 pm on Saturday.

After completing formal procedures, Govindachamy was placed in solitary confinement on the ground floor’s first block. Prison staff are monitoring him from an adjacent room, and the cell is under constant camera surveillance, including a camera installed inside. Authorities initially considered placing another inmate in the cell for observation, but later dropped the idea, determining that camera surveillance would be more secure.