Sixteen convicts serving their prison term in southern Mizoram’s Lunglei jail have walked out of jail over the last four months on the basis of forged court documents, police said on Thursday.

The fraud, which began in January this year, was discovered last week when the Lunglei district sessions court could not find the records for orders to release some inmates, said Lalruatsanga, deputy superintendent at Lunglei District Jail.

The judge filed a police report on April 25, which led to a massive search for the 16 convicts. Ten of them have been arrested, while five more are still on the run. One convict died after being released.

He said the forged documents were so professionally crafted that they bypassed initial scrutiny. “For us, delaying judgment orders is forbidden. We dare not question the orders of the court,” he added.

Lalruatsanga said a 22-year-old inmate lodged in the same prison, Jeremiah Lalthangtura, was suspected of having plotted the elaborate fraud.

A statement by Mizoram Police said that Jeremiah Lalthangtura faces eight criminal cases in connection with allegations of cheque fraud, cheating, and online marketing fraud.

The prison official said Jeremiah, the mastermind, was being questioned by the police and kept under strict surveillance.

“All-out efforts are on to nab his accomplice outside the jail since all the documents and forged judgments were printed with fake seals, which he couldn’t have done without accomplices,” Lalruatsanga said.