Suspended Ajmer Jailer Arrested and Remanded to Same Prison After Using Inmates for Domestic Work
In an unusual turn of events within Rajasthan's prison administration, suspended female jailer Divya Chaudhary was arrested by police in Kota after being on the run for nearly two months. Chaudhary stands accused of unlawfully escorting two female convicts out of Ajmer Women's Prison to perform household cleaning and domestic chores at her private residential apartment. Following her arrest on October 7, 2026, judicial authorities remanded her to custody—placing her inside the exact correctional facility she previously oversaw.
Law enforcement officials tracked Chaudhary down to her husband's rented residence in Kota using technical intelligence and mobile location analysis coordinated by the Ajmer police cyber cell. A co-accused prison guard, Sonia Chaudhary, who allegedly facilitated the unauthorized release, remains absconding.
Unauthorized Removal of Inmates and Security Violations
The incident dates back to July 12, 2026, when Jailer Divya Chaudhary allegedly bypassed established custodial protocols by taking two female prisoners—Kiran, who is serving a life sentence for murder, and Sana, an undertrial—out of the facility in her personal vehicle. Police records reveal that when main gate guards objected to the prisoners being removed without mandatory court authorization or official log entries, Chaudhary and guard Sonia Chaudhary threatened the staff to force passage.
The inmates were brought back to the facility within a few hours after news of the breach began to circulate among senior prison administration officials. Following a formal complaint lodged on August 5 by the head guard, an FIR was registered at the Civil Lines police station, leading to the suspension of both officers and orders to report to Bikaner Central Jail, which both ignored.
Governance and Custodial Accountability
The case underscores critical administrative gaps within prison security governance governed by the Prisons Act, 1894, and state correctional service manuals. Under statutory norms, moving incarcerated individuals outside prison perimeters requires explicit judicial directives, medical referral clearances, or sanctioned open-jail transfer orders.
Senior officers noted that utilizing inmates for private domestic services constitutes a severe breach of official duty, administrative corruption, and unauthorized detainment beyond lawful judicial orders, prompting stricter perimeter surveillance and staff accountability protocols across Rajasthan correctional facilities.
Key Implications
The arrest and imprisonment of a high-ranking prison official inside her former workplace highlights zero-tolerance policy enforcement regarding custodial misconduct and abuse of authority in Rajasthan's penal system.
As Ajmer police proceed with filing the formal charge sheet against Chaudhary, department leadership is implementing updated digital check-in systems at prison gates to prevent unauthorized inmate movements in the future.