THREE suspects, including an elderly man detained for alleged rape, escaped from the Goroka police station after cutting through the cell’s roof on Sunday morning.
They escaped during a blackout but it was not known what they used to cut through the roof.
Eastern Highlands police chief Supt Philip Solala urged the public to help police apprehend the escapees.
He believed the alleged rapist, who is from the Gimi area in Eastern Highlands, planned and led the escape.
Mick Kola wad arrested at Asariufa village outside Goroka last Friday and charged with raping a 12-year-old girl.
One of the other two escapees, identified only as Mayau from Watabung village in Daulo district, was also detained for rape.
The third person, Okuk Pena of Mt Hagen, Western Highlands, was detained for assault.
Supt Solala blamed the frequent power blackouts in Goroka as the main contributing factor for the escape but admitted that the policemen should have been more alert.