A high-profile convict, Govindachamy, serving a life sentence for the rape and murder of a 23-year-old woman in 2011, escaped from Kannur Central Jail in Kerala early Friday morning. The incident triggered a statewide manhunt and raised serious questions about the security of the high-security prison. However, later the same day, police recaptured Govindachamy in central Kannur city, specifically from a house in the Talap area.

Govindachamy, also known as Charley Thomas in police records, was serving a life sentence for the rape and murder of Soumya, a 23-year-old woman, in February 2011. The crime, which involved the woman being pushed from a moving train and then assaulted, sparked widespread outrage and exposed the lack of security for women passengers on trains.

The jailbreak reportedly occurred around 1:15 a.m.. Prison authorities discovered Govindachamy's absence during routine checks later in the morning. CCTV footage indicated that he escaped from his high-security cell in the 10th block after cutting through iron bars and using clothes tied together as a rope to scale the prison wall. The footage also suggested that he received help from outside. Authorities believe the escape took place in the early hours.

A search was immediately launched, and police released Govindachamy's photograph to the public, urging anyone with information to come forward. He was reportedly wearing his jail uniform at the time of the escape.

Soumya's mother alleged that Govindachamy may have received help from the police in orchestrating the escape and demanded his immediate re-arrest and the death penalty. She criticized the Supreme Court's 2016 ruling that commuted his original death sentence to life imprisonment.

Govindachamy, a native of Tamil Nadu, has a history of criminal activity. Before his arrest in the Soumya case, he had been convicted in eight cases in Tamil Nadu. His conviction in the Soumya case was one of the most high-profile criminal verdicts in Kerala.

The escape prompted a flurry of activity among prison officials and state police, who launched an intensive search operation. The incident has raised serious concerns about security lapses at one of Kerala's most secure prisons. Authorities have launched an internal investigation to determine how the escape took place.

This is not the first time an inmate has escaped from Kannur Central Jail. In January 2024, T.C. Harshad, who was serving a 10-year sentence for a drug-related offense, escaped with the help of accomplices but was later apprehended.