Seventeen inmates allegedly overpowered prison guards and escaped from Thekkampatti jail in Tamil Nadu’s Theni district late Monday after one of them reportedly complained of an epileptic fit. Police suspect that the medical emergency may have been staged to facilitate the escape, as reported in Indian Express.
Four of the escapees have been recaptured, while a statewide manhunt is underway to trace the remaining fugitives. Police have intensified vehicle checks across Tamil Nadu and established checkpoints along routes leading to neighbouring Kerala.
The escape is among the largest prison breakouts in Tamil Nadu in decades. In 1995, 43 suspected LTTE militants escaped from a special detention camp inside Vellore Fort through a tunnel measuring approximately 153 feet (47 metres).
Four Escapees Arrested; 17 Special Teams Formed
Inspector General of Police (IGP), South Zone, Vijayendra Bidari, said the four prisoners were apprehended during a combing operation launched to trace all 17 escapees. Police have formed 17 special teams to track down and arrest those still at large.
Theni Superintendent of Police K. S. Praveen Gowtham visited the prison following the incident. Police teams searched areas surrounding the facility, including wooded stretches and railway tracks, as officers worked to establish the escapees’ whereabouts.
Vehicle checks were intensified across Theni and neighbouring districts. Checkpoints were also established along routes leading to Kerala, including Kumily, Cumbum Mettu and Bodimettu, amid concerns that the fugitives might attempt to cross the state border.
Police in Kerala’s Idukki district, as well as in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai and Dindigul districts, were alerted. Photographs of the escaped inmates were circulated among officials to help identify and apprehend them.
In Dindigul, Superintendent of Police S. Jeyakumar said checkpoints had been established at 16 locations. Vehicle checks were also conducted in Villupuram and other parts of Tamil Nadu as the search widened.
How the Escape Allegedly Took Place
All 17 inmates, who are from Madurai, had been lodged in the same prison cell.
According to the police account, one of the inmates complained of an epileptic episode late Monday. When a prison officer entered the cell to attend to the reported medical emergency, the inmates allegedly attacked and overpowered him before escaping through the prison’s main gate.
The officer, identified as Thangapandi, sustained a head injury and was admitted to the Government Hospital at G. Vilakku. Two other prison personnel also suffered minor injuries.
Investigators are examining whether the reported epileptic fit was deliberately staged to lure the officer into the cell. They are also looking into how the inmates managed to overpower the prison staff and leave through the main entrance.
The circumstances surrounding the escape have raised questions about security arrangements at the facility, although the investigation is still underway.
Police Probe Possible Security Lapses
The charges under which the 17 inmates had been detained were not immediately available.
The Kandamanur police have registered a case, while senior police and prison officials have begun examining the sequence of events and possible security lapses that enabled the escape.
The investigation is focused on establishing how the inmates carried out the escape, whether the reported medical emergency was part of a pre-planned operation, and how they managed to get past prison security.
Police said the investigation and the search for the remaining escapees were continuing.
Thekkampatti prison houses more than 500 inmates from several districts of Tamil Nadu.
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