Theni jailbreak: 13 of 17 inmates recaptured, 9 prison staff suspended; Opposition slams govt

As many as 17 special teams were formed to trace the absconding convicts by the police.

As many as 13 of 17 convicts who broke out of a jail in Tamil Nadu's Theni district have been recaptured, and one of them was sent back in the auto he took after the escape.

Director General of Police (Prisons) and Correctional Services Dr Sandeep Rai Rathore, Inspector General of Prisons and Correctional Services R Kanagaraj, DIG Prisons Madurai A Murugesan IGP South Zone Vijayendra S Bidari visited the incident site and briefly met local jail authorities and reviewed the situation at the jail premises.

Earlier in the day, IGP Bidari confirmed that four of the 17 prisoners who escaped from the Theni sub-jail have been arrested during combing operations.

ALSO READ: 'After Breaking Bad, Prison Break has begun in Tamil Nadu': Stalin slams Vijay govt over Theni jailbreak

The fifth convict was arrested from an autorickshaw, which he had taken after the escape.

The unsuspecting auto driver agreed to drop him at Kanavilakku, police said. A police head constable riding a two-wheeler intercepted the auto, identified the fugitive and asked the driver to take the "passenger" straight to prison.

As many as 17 special teams were formed to trace the absconding convicts by the police. The Tamil Nadu police conducted a joint operations with Keralam Police and had set up temporary check-posts on areas bordering districts with Idukki, Madurai and Dindigul to nab the culprits.

Details about the 17 prisoners who escaped are -- N Solai Mugileswaran, K Meenakshi Sundaram, M Karuppusamy, P Sabarinathan, P Ponmuthuselvam, G Nishanth, M Muthuelangovan, R Rejin, C Dharunkumar, K Thiruppathi, S Pandiselvam, N Karchickraja, T Praveenkumar, S Silambarasan, A Raja Sikkandhar, K Rajkumar, J Lingaprasath

The use of drones came in handy as one of the convicts who was nabbed immediately after the jailbreak was traced using the drone. He was allegedly hiding behind the Theni jail in a forest area.

As police officials intensified efforts to nab the culprits on Tuesday, once again with the use of drones, eight more convicts were arrested taking the overall recaptured convicts to 13.

An official also confirmed that 13 convicts were recaptured again. They were hiding in the forests behind the jail and with the use of drones, they were identified and arrested, he said.

He further said a manhunt is on to nab the remaining four prisoners.

The Theni district jail has been functioning since January 10, 2019. It has a capacity to accommodate 200 prisoners.

Detailing about the incident in an official statement, the prison department said on October 26, a total of 334 prisoners were confined in prison.

Around 10 pm on October 26, some prisoners raised an alarm stating an inmate in the third block was experiencing epilepsy.

Stalin Prabhu, Grade II Warder proceeded inside to ascertain whether the prisoner was experiencing any difficulty. However, the other inmates overpowered him and the main gate guard and managed to escape by snatching the keys of the main entrance.

Action against prison personnel

Besides, nine prison staff were suspended, an investigating officer said on Tuesday. "They have been placed under suspension for lack of duty", the official said.

As reported by HT earlier, the prisoners escaped after allegedly staging a ruse that one of them was suffering from epilepsy and required medical attention.

"It appears that the prisoners escaped by a putting a drama as if one of them was unwell and suffering from fits or epilepsy. They overpowered the prison guards and escaped,” said IGP South Zone Vijayendra S Bidari.

Following the incident, multiple cases were filed at the Gandamanur Police station under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita including 121 (1) (causing hurt to public servant from performing their official duties), BNS 296 (b) engaging in obscene acts, BNS 115 (2) (causing hurt by using weapon), among others.

Opposition slams ‘Prison Break’

The jail escape drew criticism from the Opposition in Tamil Nadu. Former Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin slammed the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government over the incident. He said that after “Breaking Bad”, “Prison Break” has taken place in the state.

“Before the Tamil Nadu people could recover from the shock of two inmates escaping from Puzhal prison (near Chennai), last week, 17 inmates have escaped from the Theni district prison,” he said, adding that for the first since 1995 since 1995 so many prisoners have escaped in a short period. He said the incidents highlighted that the TVK government was “completely useless” and Tamil Nadu has reached a “pathetic state” where the public has to protect themselves.