Kathmandu – According to Nepal Police spokesperson DIG Binod Ghimire, more than 13,500 prisoners have escaped from prisons across the country.

The Department of Prison Management reports that Nepal has 74 prisons in total. As of mid-July, there were 28,903 inmates. However, after the protest on September 8, 17 prisons were severely damaged, leading to the escape of 13,572 prisoners, which is about 46.70 percent of the total inmates, along with 560 detainees who were under investigation for various cases.

Recently, the Nepal Army has been reinforcing security in prisons and has managed to control several escape attempts. Among those who fled is former minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, who was in custody for trial in the fake Bhutanese refugee case.

The mass prison break occurred on Tuesday during protests by “Gen Z,” when demonstrators engaged in vandalism and arson, creating chaos that allowed prisoners to escape.