Dramatic escape as 5 undertrial prisoners use blanket, lungis, bedsheet to make rope & flee Assam jail (WATCH)

Five undertrial prisoners escaped from the Morigaon District Jail in Assam in the early hours of Friday, officials said.

Amidst the vibrant festivities of Durga Puja, Assam was rattled by an audacious jailbreak late last night when five under-trial prisoners fled from the Morigaon district jail. The escapees, all accused in cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, have been identified as Saifuddin, Jiarul Islam, Nur Islam, Mafidul, and Abdul Rashid.

Morigaon's District Commissioner Devashish Sharma told news agency PTI that the jailbreak took place between 1 am and 2 am.

"All the five undertrials were accused of cases filed under the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act. They were arrested from Morigaon and Sonitpur districts," he said.

The prisoners slipped away under the cover of darkness, taking advantage of the late-night lull in security.

The inmates broke the iron grille of their cell and then used bed sheets, blankets and lungis to make a rope and climbed down from the 20-feet-high boundary wall of the jail, another official said.

A search is underway to arrest them, he said.

Meanwhile, a magisterial inquiry was ordered into the incident. The inquiry will also look into if there were any lapses on the part of the jail security personnel, he said.