TIRUCHY: A life convict lodged in the Central prison in Tiruchy escaped and the search is on for him on Friday.

It is said that Rajendran (49), a resident of Thanjavur, charged under the Pocso Act was awarded life imprisonment in 2023 and was lodged in the Central prison here.

On Friday, the inmates were let out for daily work, and there was a roll call at around 8.30 am, but the officials found that Rajendran had gone missing.

The shocked prison staff were searching for him across the premises, but in vain. They passed on the information to the KK Nagar police, who registered a case and have been searching for him in several places, including the houses of his relatives and friends in Thanjavur, but they could not locate him.

The search was intensified in the adjacent districts like Tiruvarur, Tiruchy and Pudukkottai.