According to South Zone Inspector General of Police Vijayendra Bidari, all 17 prisoners were lodged in the same cell. Jail staff received information late at night that one of the inmates was unwell. When the staff members arrived at the cell, the prisoners allegedly attacked them and escaped.
The incident is being considered one of the biggest prisoner escape incidents in Tamil Nadu since 1995. That year, 43 suspects linked to the LTTE organisation escaped from a special detention camp inside Vellore Fort by digging a tunnel. The tunnel was approximately 153 feet (47 metres) long.
Three police personnel were injured during Monday night’s incident. According to the police report, the prisoners had informed the staff that one inmate was suffering from seizures. Jail employees and security personnel subsequently opened the cell door and entered. The prisoners, who were allegedly lying in wait, then attacked them.
Thangapandi, a Grade-II police constable posted at Theni District Jail, sustained a head injury and was admitted to the government hospital at G. Vilakku. Two other jail personnel also suffered minor injuries.
Following the escape, police in neighbouring districts were placed on alert. In neighbouring Dindigul district, checkpoints were established at 16 locations, where vehicles are being inspected to help apprehend the fugitives.
Dindigul Superintendent of Police S. Jayakumar confirmed that the checkpoints had been set up. Police have also informed officials in Madurai, Dindigul and Kerala’s Idukki district about the incident. Photographs of the escaped prisoners have been circulated among police stations to assist in their identification and arrest.
In a separate prison escape incident, a prisoner fled from Sheopur District Jail on Saturday afternoon after scaling a 22-foot-high wall. He reportedly tied bedsheets together to make a rope and used it to climb over the wall. The escape is believed to have taken place between 2 pm and 3 pm, triggering a commotion among jail authorities.
The two incidents have drawn attention to prison security, with police continuing efforts to locate the remaining fugitives from the Theni sub-jail.
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