Kathmandu: More than 8,500 prisoners who escaped during the Gen-G movement remain at large, raising serious public safety concerns. According to the Prison Management Department, 14,555 prisoners and detainees fled from 27 prisons and nine reform homes during the unrest.

As of 5 PM Thursday, only 5,893 have returned or been arrested, including 5,649 from prisons and 244 from correctional homes. Out of 1,422 individuals in correctional homes, 964 had escaped, while 13,591 fled from prisons.

Prison Management Department Information Officer Sandesh Prasad Joshi said that despite a public notice urging escapees to surrender, the return process has slowed in recent days. Some prisoners have been captured from border areas, suggesting attempts to flee to India, though Joshi believes most may be hiding locally and could return after the festival season.

The department has reported 11 deaths so far, including five in prisons, five in correctional facilities, and one suicide case from Saptari.

Authorities are concerned as several escapees, including those convicted of murder, rape, and other heinous crimes, have reportedly committed fresh crimes while at large. Public fear has grown since the escape, which was partly triggered by the release of Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) President Rabi Lamichhane from Nakkhu Prison, sparking a wave of mass jailbreaks across the country.

Officials have admitted that security lapses allowed the escapes to happen and that security personnel have not yet been able to fully restore a sense of safety. Police search operations are ongoing, but the presence of thousands of escaped convicts continues to pose a significant threat to law and order.