Dehradun:
Two jail inmates, serving life term, have escaped with the alleged connivance of some jail officials from a prison in Dehradun, police said today.
Ravi Bengali and Salim, who were sentenced to life term in separate murder cases, escaped last evening from the Suddhowala jail, they said.
Besides the Uttarakhand police issuing an alert in the state, the government has also ordered a magisterial inquiry into the matter.
"We believe the duo escaped with active connivance of some jail officials because it is very difficult to cross the 22-feet-high wall of the prison," said a top government official of the state home department.
The jail authorities did not report the incident to the police for nearly four hours, raising further suspicion on the circumstances leading to the escape.
Police has launched a manhunt for the two in Dehradun and other parts of the state.