Fake Court Orders Free 17 Prisoners From Mizoram Jail, Two Arrested

Seventeen prisoners convicted in serious offences , including POCSO violations, drug trafficking and theft, were illegally released from Mizoram’s Lunglei district jail using forged court orders in a sophisticated fake-document racket allegedly operated from inside the prison itself, police said on Saturday.

The scam came to light after two undertrial prisoners appeared before R Lalduhawmi on April 24 carrying purported release orders issued by the Lunglei District Court and the Gauhati High Court. The prisoners claimed they had been granted release on a bond of ₹50,000 .

The judge grew suspicious because she had heard their case only a day earlier and had scheduled the next hearing for May 8. She immediately visited Lunglei District Jail, where authorities discovered that several inmates had already walked free using forged judicial documents.

Police investigations revealed that the fake orders were allegedly created by Jeremia Lalthangtura, a 25-year-old undertrial prisoner lodged in the jail. Investigators said he used computers at a xerox and printing shop in Lunglei’s Rahsi Veng locality, and at times an office computer inside the jail itself, to prepare forged release orders resembling genuine court documents.

Police alleged that C Laltlanhlua , a non-regular ambulance driver attached to the jail, helped the operation by securing office keys and acting as a lookout while the forged papers were prepared. The documents were then submitted to jail officials, who allegedly released prisoners believing the orders were authentic.

According to police, the accused collected between ₹4,000 and ₹50,000 from inmates by promising to secure their release or file appeals through a lawyer.

So far, 11 released convicts have been rearrested, one was arrested by Khawzawl police, while another reportedly died after release. The investigation is ongoing.