Police have arrested 15 of the 17 undertrial prisoners who escaped from the Thekkampatti District Jail near Andipatti in Theni district after attacking prison guards. A search is under way to trace the remaining two prisoners.
Thirteen escapees were arrested during an intensive search operation on Monday, while two more were apprehended on Tuesday. Special police teams, including personnel from the Naxal special unit, have been deployed to trace the remaining prisoners. Drone surveillance, vehicle checks and searches in nearby forest and hilly areas have been intensified. The incident occurred when prison guards were alerted at around 10.30 p.m. that a prisoner was suffering a seizure. When four guards opened the cell and entered, 17 prisoners allegedly attacked them and escaped.
The prison, which has a sanctioned capacity of 200 inmates, was housing 334 prisoners. As many as 17 inmates were reportedly lodged in a single cell.
Three guards were injured in the attack, with one sustaining a head injury. They are undergoing treatment in hospital. Following the escape, Director-General of Police (Prisons) Sandeep Roy Rathore ordered the suspension of nine prison guards. Only four guards were reportedly on duty at the time, against the prescribed strength of 17. The police launched an extensive search across the district and along the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border, including the Kumily, Cumbum and Bodimettu areas. The escapees were arrested at different locations, including forest areas near the prison.
Following consultations between senior government officials, including the Chief Secretary, and prison department officials, steps have been initiated to strengthen security in jails. These include deploying armed personnel in elevated watchtowers, increasing security at central prisons and recruiting additional prison staff.
The Prisons Department has also issued instructions authorising armed personnel to open fire, as appropriate, against prisoners attempting to escape.
Five Theni Prison escapees remanded in Judicial custody
Five of the 17 prisoners who escaped from the district prison near Kandanur in Theni district were produced before the Andipatti court on Monday night (October 27). Judge Basil Mohammed ordered that they be remanded in judicial custody until November 10.
The prisoners escaped on the night of October 26 after allegedly assaulting police personnel at the prison. In the initial search operation, Praveenkumar was arrested from a bushy area near the prison. Silambarasan was later apprehended at Thirumalapuram Vilakku near Bodinayakanur, while Raja Sikandar and Rajkumar were arrested at different locations.
Prasanth alias Lingaprasad, a differently abled prisoner, was arrested at K. Vilakku on Tuesday afternoon while allegedly attempting to escape in an autorickshaw.
Police subsequently arrested eight more escapees — Karuppasamy, Tharunkumar, Pandichelvam, Sabarinathan, Nishanth, Muthu Ilangovan, Karthik Raja and Solaimugileswaran — who had been hiding in a hilly area.
The eight prisoners arrested later are expected to be produced before the court on Wednesday.
Police said they had received credible information that the remaining four escapees were hiding in the Ammasiyapuram hillock area and expressed hope of apprehending them by Wednesday afternoon.
