AGARTALA, Oct 22 (TIWN/IANS): Three convicts, all serving life-imprisonment since 2012, escaped from the Central Jail in Tripura, police said on Saturday.

"The three convicts -- Milan Debbarma, 28; Swarna Kumar Tripura, 22; Rabindra Tripura, 24 -- fled from the jail in Bishalgarh on Friday night. They were found missing during the routine roll-call," Sepahijala district police chief Sudipta Das said.

He said that a massive search operation was in place and all of the state's 74 police stations were alerted.

"BSF (Border Security Force) were also asked to keep a close watch on the borders to prevent the convicts from crossing over to Bangladesh," Das added.