Govindachamy recaptured: How Kerala's most-wanted criminal escaped prison, despite being differently-abled

Charley Thomas' (aka Govindachamy) daring prison escape and recapture over a 10-hour period on July 25 has raised a number of questions. (Photos: X, ManoramaOnline, AI services)

Just after 1 AM on July 25, Govindachamy—serving a life sentence for the 2011 Soumya case—escaped from the Kannur Central Prison by reportedly scaling a 20-foot prison wall using a makeshift rope, despite being differently-abled.

Despite being lodged alone in the high-security 10B block, his absence was only noticed at around 5 AM, during a routine inspection. The police was notified by 7 AM, triggering a statewide search.

A probe revealed that his meticulous escape involved exercising heavily and avoiding rice for weeks, subsisting on just chapatis to lose body weight. To avoid questions on his diet, he reportedly secured a medical letter from the jail doctor too.

Questions have risen as to how the differently-abled Govindachamy sourced the blade and clothes, and scaled the 20-foot wall, despite barbed electric fence on top of the wall, and CCTV cameras at the prison.

CCTV footage aired on local channels showed a man resembling Govindachamy walking on the roadside with a bundle on his head, inside which he had hidden his left arm, which is missing a hand.

A police team soon arrived at the area. Sniffer dogs got to work, leading the team to a building in the Talap region.

Suddenly, they heard a commotion nearby, and raced to a well, where he was found hiding. He was soon pulled out from the well, and taken back into custody.