Six juvenile offenders escape Surguja observation home in 2nd such incident

Raipur: On Saturday evening in Surguja, six juvenile offenders escaped from the Child Observation Home after throwing chilli powder in the eyes of a guard.

The incident has raised concerns about lack of security arrangements and shortage of guards at the observation home as some other juveniles had escaped in Feb of this year as well.

Gandhinagar station house officer (SHO) Gaurav Pandey told TOI that the juveniles, all under the age of 16-17, threw chilli powder into the eyes of the observation home's guard before fleeing through the main gate.

"This is the second such incident in the past three months. The first occurred in Feb this year. However, since I was not present at that time, I will need to verify the details of the previous case. Saturday's incident took place between 5:30pm and 6:00pm. One of the juveniles was lodged here in connection with a case under Section 376," the SHO said.

Meanwhile, an official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told TOI that all six juveniles are habitual offenders. The 50-seater observation home currently houses about 25 juveniles, including the six who escaped. "The major concern at the observation home is security. One guard is not enough to manage 25–26 habitual offenders. The juveniles escaped when the guard was opening the gate," he said. All the juveniles are aged between 16 and 17. Referring to a previous incident, he added, "In Feb 2025, three juveniles escaped as well."

SHO Pandey also mentioned that two of the escaped juveniles are from Ambikapur, one from Janjgir-Champa, and the remaining three are from Surajpur. He added that all the juveniles were being held at the observation home in connection with theft and other criminal offences.

Upon receiving information via telephone, the police arrived at the location and launched a probe. As of now, there is no trace of the absconding juvenile offenders. Police teams are conducting raids at their potential hideouts in an effort to locate them. The SHO said they received some leads and are hopeful about rescuing the juveniles.