Chennai: Twelve children escaped from the Government Place of Safety at Athur, near Chengalpet, on Sunday evening. Police said the children, who are in conflict with law, later assaulted three motorists, stole motorcycles and snatched a mobile phone. One child was subsequently traced, while a search is under way for the remaining 11.The Govt Place of Safety, run by the social welfare department, houses juviniles and young people in conflict with the law from across Tamil Nadu.The incident occurred while a movie was being screened at the facility on Sunday evening. The children slipped out of the hall, opened the main gate and fled. No security personnel were posted at the gate at the time.After escaping, the children allegedly stole three parked motorcycles on Chengalpet-Orakkattupettai Road. They assaulted three motorists, snatched their motorcycles and robbed one of them of a mobile phone, police said.Chengalpet Taluk police registered a case over the escape from lawful custody and robberies. Preliminary inquiries showed the children had been planning the escape for nearly a week. Police are investigating the circumstances that enabled the escape, including the apparent security lapse at the facility.The escape came barely a week after a clash between two groups of inmates at the facility. Cases were registered against 19 children for rioting and damaging government property. The clash, on July 5, followed an argument over the distribution of evening snacks. Inmates allegedly one another and damaged parts of the facility.In a similar incident on June 22, five juveniles escaped from a Govt Observation Home in Chengalpet. Three of them were later traced by the police.
