Kaski jail security questioned after inmate escapes on a repair ladder
An inmate serving a life sentence escaped from Kaski Jail on October 17 by climbing a ladder brought in for electrical repairs, police said. He was arrested at a hotel in Pokhara on October 20.
The escape of an inmate from Kaski Jail has raised questions about security at the prison. Santosh Jalari climbed out using a ladder that had been brought in for electrical repairs, according to the Kaski District Police Office.
Jalari, 37, of Khapaudi in Pokhara Metropolitan City-18, escaped at around 2 am on the night of Saturday, October 17, 2026, according to reports by Nagarik, Ratopati and Thaha Khabar. He was serving a life sentence for murder and robbery; Superintendent of Police Nabin Karki, chief of the Kaski District Police Office, put the term at 25 years.
Karki said the escape was planned. "It has been found that he escaped by climbing a ladder placed for electrical repairs," he said, adding that Jalari had told investigators he had been planning to leave the jail for a month.
Jalari had been running a shop inside the jail, Karki said. According to the police chief, Jalari kept the ladder by his shop, saying it would be needed for more electrical work the next day, and left in the middle of the night. Karki said the escape succeeded because neither the police guarding the jail nor the inmates' leader, known as the naike, paid enough attention, and that Jalari appeared to have misled the naike and other inmates.
Jailer Ghanshyam Gautam said Jalari's absence was discovered only the next morning, at the inmate count. He said it was natural for the escape to raise questions about the jail's security.
A joint team from the Gandaki Province Police Office and the District Police Office, Kaski, arrested Jalari at a hotel in Pokhara on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, within two days of the escape, the jailer said. Police are investigating an offence under the Jail Act, and a court has extended his remand for the inquiry, Karki said.
Karki said Jalari could face an additional five years in prison for the escape. He described escapes from the jail as rare, and said the incident had alerted those responsible to pay closer attention to the prison's security.