TN jail break: 17 inmates escape from Theni sub-jail; four held

SEVENTEEN inmates lodged at the Theni sub-jail in Tamil Nadu escaped late on Monday night after allegedly assaulting a police official, officials said. Police said all 17 undertrials were lodged in the same cell. 

They allegedly assaulted prison personnel when the latter entered the cell after receiving information that one of the inmates was unwell before escaping from the jail.

According to the police, four of the missing inmates have been nabbed, while 17 special teams have been formed to trace and apprehend the remaining escapees.

Alert in neighbouring districts, border

Security teams are conducting intensive vehicle checks following the incident. Dindigul Superintendent of Police S Jeyakumar told ANI that police set up check posts at 16 locations as a precautionary measure.

Information about the incident was shared with the police in Madurai and Dindigul districts, as well as Idukki, which borders Tamil Nadu, while photographs of the escaped accused were circulated among police officials to assist in their identification.

How the inmates broke out

According to IGP, South Zone, Bidari, prisoners had staged an “epilepsy drama" to facilitate their escape.

When prison personnel entered the cell to attend to the reported medical concern, the inmates allegedly assaulted them before escaping from the facility, he said.

Gr. II Police personnel Thangapandi, attached to the Theni district jail, sustained a head injury in the incident and was admitted to the Government Hospital at G Vilakku. Two other jail police personnel also sustained minor injuries, according to the police report.

Political controversy in Tamil Nadu

The incident has triggered a sharp political row in the state, with the opposition parties targeting the ruling TVK, calling the jailbreak a humiliating security failure and criticising Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay over the state's law and order situation.

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami said the news that 17 prisoners have escaped from Theni district jail is "shocking."

"The law department has already become a laughing stock due to the corruption in the appointment of lawyers and court cases against the government. The electricity department is mired in a power purchase scam and frequent outages. Now the prisons department has joined the list. The highlight of this is that one minister is handling all three departments," Palaniswami said in a statement.

"The whole town is laughing at the administrative qualities of Minister R Nirmal Kumar," Palaniswami said, taking a swipe at the minister and recalled that two prisoners escaped from the Puzhal Jail in Chennai.