Theni (Tamil Nadu): Seventeen undertrial prisoners escaped from the Thekkampatti sub-jail near Andipatti in Theni district late on Monday night, after faking a medical emergency and attacking the guard who came to help. It is among the largest prison breaks in Tamil Nadu in decades. Four of the escapees have been rearrested, and 13 are still at large.

How the escape happened

According to police, all 17 men were held in the same cell, or barrack, and had colluded in advance. Late on Monday, some of them called for help, saying an inmate was having an epileptic seizure. When prison staff unlocked the cell and went in, the prisoners attacked them, overpowered the staff and walked out through the main gate. Reports put the time between about 10.30 pm and midnight.

Three prison personnel were injured. One of them, a Grade II constable named Thangapandi, suffered a serious head injury. The jail houses more than 500 inmates from several districts.

The manhunt

Four of the escapees, Silambarasan, Praveen Kumar, Raja Sikandar and Rajkumar, were arrested by Tuesday morning, with Praveen Kumar the first to be caught. Seventeen special teams have been formed to trace the rest. Police in neighbouring Dindigul and Madurai districts, and in Idukki in Kerala, have been alerted, and vehicle checks have been stepped up at bus stands and in Villupuram. Photographs of all the absconding prisoners have been circulated to nearby stations. Eleven of the 16 who were still at large after the first arrest are from Madurai district.

Southern Zone Inspector General of Police Vijayendra Bidari said the inmates had planned the escape together. Theni Superintendent of Police K.S. Praveen Gowtham inspected the jail after the incident. The circumstances, including possible security lapses, are under investigation.

Action against staff and the government’s response

Nine jail personnel, including two head constables, have been suspended in connection with the incident. State Law Minister Nirmal Kumar confirmed that the inmates, who were in the same block, had staged a drama as if someone had collapsed with a seizure.

Political reaction

The opposition seized on the escape. AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami called it shocking and asked how the common man could be safe if prisons weren’t. He accused the TVK government under Chief Minister Vijay of letting prison security collapse. The government has not issued a detailed response to that charge.

How it compares

The escape ranks among the state’s largest since 1995, when 43 suspected LTTE militants escaped from a detention camp inside Vellore Fort through a tunnel about 153 feet long. This one needed no tools. It relied on a simple deception and the reflex of staff to respond to a medical emergency.

What to watch

The key questions are how quickly the remaining 13 are caught, how many guards were on duty, what protocol they followed for opening a cell, and whether the inquiry leads to action beyond the nine suspensions. Authorities have not yet said what the 17 men were accused of.

 

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