Cuttack, Sept 21: Choudwar Circle Jail Superintendent Sujit Raul has been arrested by Choudwar police in connection with an alleged forgery of the jail’s official minutes book.
Police arrested Raul from his residence in Saheed Nagar, Bhubaneswar. He was later produced before a court, which rejected his bail plea and remanded him to judicial custody. He has been lodged in Choudwar Jail, the same prison where he served as superintendent.
The case relates to alleged manipulation of important records of the jail following the escape of two inmates, Madhukant Rana and Raja Sahani, on the night of October 2, 2025.
According to the complaint filed by then-jailer Santosini Dash, Raul was not on duty when the two inmates escaped. He allegedly manipulated the jail’s minutes book to conceal his absence and showed himself as present. He was also accused of getting forged signatures on official documents without the jailer’s knowledge.
After registering the case, Choudwar police reportedly issued repeated notices to Raul seeking the minutes book and other relevant documents. However, he allegedly failed to submit the documents.
Raul had approached the Odisha High Court seeking protection from arrest. The court had initially granted him interim protection, but on August 29, the protection was withdrawn and his anticipatory bail plea was rejected.
He subsequently approached the Supreme Court on September 4, challenging the High Court’s order. His anticipatory bail plea is currently pending before the apex court.
Meanwhile, Choudwar police arrested Raul and produced him before the court around midnight. Following the rejection of his bail plea, he was sent to judicial custody and lodged in Choudwar Jail.
Reports have described the case as unusual, as a serving jail superintendent has been arrested and subsequently lodged in the same prison where he had been posted.
