Former Rajasthan jailer arrested and jailed in same prison for using convicts as domestic help

Divya Chaudhary, a 37-year-old former jailer at the Ajmer Central Jail in Rajasthan, was arrested and sent to judicial custody as an inmate in the very same prison where she once worked. Police caught her in Kota after she had been on the run for months following an illegal incident involving prison inmates.

The Incident

On July 12, Divya Chaudhary took two women prisoners, Kiran alias Setha and Sana, to her private rented flat to clean it. Kiran was serving a life sentence for murder, while Sana was an undertrial prisoner. Sakshi notes that staff at the main prison gate objected to the move, warning that rules did not permit it, but the jailer and constable Sonia Chaudhary ignored the warnings and took them anyway. The prisoners were brought back within a couple of hours after superiors quickly discovered the breach.

Arrest And Action

Following a complaint by jail staff member Mahipal Mangloda and an internal inquiry, a case was registered at the Civil Lines police station on August 5. Both Divya Chaudhary and jail guard Sonia Chaudhary were suspended. While Divya remained on the run to evade arrest, a special police team led by SHO Shambu Singh tracked her using CCTV footage, technical evidence, and cyber cell assistance. She was finally arrested on October 6 in a rented flat in Kota where her husband works and stays.

Context

Prison rules strictly prohibit taking convicted or undertrial inmates outside jail premises for personal household chores without court permission or official record entries. This case highlights the strict legal consequences faced by public officials when prison security protocols and inmate management laws are openly violated.