Quake opens Bengal jail gates, but nobody escapes

The old gates and windows of many cells gave way in Sunday evening's quake. But a head count of prisoners at the Jalpaiguri Correctional Home Monday showed none of them had escaped.

"We have done the counting. Nobody has escaped," Inspector General of Police (prisons) Ranvir Kumar said.

Many of the nearly 1,100 prisoners rushed out of their cells Sunday evening when the quake hit the region.

However, police and correctional home employees put up a cordon around the premises.

Kumar said there was no chance of escaping from the prison compound as the compound's main gates were intact.