Soumya rape-murder case: Govindachamy aka Charley Thomas caught hours after escaping Kannur jail; was hiding in a well | Kochi News
NEW DELHI: A man convicted of the brutal rape and murder of a young woman on a moving train in Kerala was caught on Friday morning, just hours after he escaped from Kannur Central Prison.A local resident who joined the police in the search told the media the convict was found hiding inside a well.Police finally caught him around 10.40am, hiding in an abandoned plot in the Thalappu area of Kannur district. Govindachamy, also known as Charley Thomas, had vanished from his cell in the early hours, prompting a state-wide manhunt. The 49-year-old convict, originally from Virudhachalam in Tamil Nadu, is among Kerala’s most notorious criminals. He had been serving a life sentence for the 2011 rape and murder of a 23-year-old saleswoman travelling on a train from Kochi to Shoranur. On 1 February 2011, the victim had shifted to a general compartment at Vallathol Nagar station. Govindachamy boarded the same coach as the train pulled out. What followed was one of Kerala’s most disturbing crimes, sending shockwaves across the state. He was arrested soon after and sentenced to life imprisonment. Kerala Police launched an immediate search operation on Friday morning after prison staff found that he was missing from his cell. Authorities have now ordered an internal probe into how he managed to escape the high-security prison. Govindachamy is physically disabled and walks with a crutch. Despite this, he managed to evade capture for several hours before police zeroed in on his hideout. The jail department is expected to submit a preliminary report to the state home department, as questions mount over lapses in surveillance and prison protocols.
