A murder convict who had threatened suicide by climbing a tree adjacent to a three-storeyed building outside the Poojapura Central Prison in Thiruvananthapuram was rescued after a nearly two-hour-long drama.

Kottayam-native Subash had kept the police and rescue personnel on tenterhooks when he jumped the prison wall and climbed a tree on the premises of a shelter home in the vicinity.

Subash was heard screaming to the mediapersons gathered below that he was innocent. Rescue personnel had spread a safety net around the tree as a couple of them climbed the tree to try and convince Subash to co-operate

Eventually, the rescue personnel pulled him down and he was caught in the net. The police quickly escorted him back into the prison.

A prison officer told mediapersons that Subash was convicted in 2014 and had been housed in the Open Prison at Nettukaltheri here. "He was shifted to the Central Prison two weeks back after exhibiting psychological problems," said the prison officer, who claimed there was no security lapse.

It is understood that Subash, who is serving a life sentence, was being brought to the office of the Central Prison when he attempted the escape.

Though Subash had managed to climb over the prison wall, he ended up on the premises of a Shelter Home, where he climbed the tree.