Panaji, Aug 25 (IANS): An undertrial incarcerated in a central prison in North Goa escaped from there on Tuesday after he was assigned to dump garbage outside the jail premises.

A statewide manhunt has been launched to trace the undertrial Hemraj Bharadwaj, who was arrested a few months back in a Narcotics, Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act case.

"We have alerted the police who ensured the borders were sealed within 20 minutes of his escape being brought to our notice. We expect that he will be arrested soon," Inspector General of Prisons Gurudas Pilarnkar told reporters.

A Home Ministry official said that Bharadwaj had been directed by prison guards to dump garbage outside the prison complex, when he made good his escape.

"An enquiry will be ordered into the lapses by the prison authorities, which led to the escape of the undertrial," the official said.

The prison facility has around 500 odd inmates, but more than a dozen inmates have tested positive for Covid-19 over the last few days.