Convict recaptured after escaping from jail, hiding just 2 km away

 

By Sagaya Fernando | July 25, 2025

Kannur, Kerala, INDIA: Govindachamy, the convict in the 2011 Soumya rape and murder case, was recaptured on Friday July 25 after escaping from Kannur Central Jail in the early hours of the morning. He was found hiding in an abandoned property in Talap, approximately two kilometers from the prison. In a failed attempt to evade arrest, he jumped into a well but was swiftly pulled out by police officers.

Jail authorities discovered Govindachamy missing during a routine inspection of his cell. The alert was raised at 7 am, prompting an immediate manhunt across the region. After several hours of search operations, police located him in a deserted building, bringing a dramatic end to the brief jailbreak.

The escape has reignited public anger surrounding a case that once shocked the state and nation. Soumya, a 23-year-old woman from Manjakkad near Shornur, was travelling alone in the ladies’ coach of the Ernakulam–Shoranur passenger train on February 1, 2011, when Govindachamy—an ex-convict with a criminal history—entered the compartment unlawfully.

He assaulted her and allegedly pushed her out of the moving train near Vallathol Nagar station. After she fell, he followed her, dragged her into a nearby wooded area, raped her, and fled. Soumya sustained severe head injuries and internal trauma. Despite being admitted to Thrissur Medical College Hospital, she succumbed to her injuries on February 6, 2011.

In November 2011, the Thrissur Fast Track Court convicted Govindachamy of murder, rape, robbery, and grievous hurt, sentencing him to death. The Kerala High Court upheld the verdict in 2013, calling the crime “brutal and savage.”

However, in a 2016 judgment, the Supreme Court overturned the murder conviction, stating the prosecution had failed to prove that Govindachamy intended to kill Soumya. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for rape and seven years for related offenses, to run concurrently. The Kerala government’s review and curative petitions were dismissed in 2017.

The verdict drew sharp criticism from the public and experts, including forensic pathologist Dr. Sherly Vasu, who performed the autopsy. She contested the ruling, stating that Soumya’s six serious head injuries could not have been caused by a fall, but rather indicated deliberate assault.

Friday’s jailbreak has once again brought the Soumya case back into public discourse, highlighting enduring concerns about prison security and the justice system’s ability to protect victims and deliver lasting accountability