Nine Jail Staff Suspended After 17 Undertrials Escape from Tamil Nadu Sub-Jail

Theni: Nine jail staff members have been suspended following the escape of 17 undertrial prisoners from the Thekkampatti sub-jail in Theni, Tamil Nadu. The suspensions were ordered over security lapses and dereliction of duty, Director General of Police (Prisons) Sandeep Rai Rathore announced.

The escapees have been identified as Karuppasamy (Madhan), Tharun Kumar, Rajkumar, Pandiselvam, Tirupathi, Ponmuthuchelvan, Meenakshi Sundaram, Sabarinathan, Regin, Nishanth, Muthu Elangovan, Karthik Raj, Prashanth (Linga Prasad), Raja Sikandar, Chilambarasan and Solai Mugileswaran.

Police initially apprehended one of the 17 escapees shortly after the incident. Four more were subsequently arrested during search operations. A massive search is continuing in forest areas across the district to trace the remaining fugitives.

According to the police, all 17 prisoners had been lodged in the same cell. They escaped after assaulting jail staff who entered the cell upon receiving information that one of the inmates was unwell. Thangapandi, a Grade II police officer at the Theni District Jail, sustained serious head injuries in the attack and was admitted to a government hospital. Two other jail staff members suffered minor injuries.

Police have issued alerts to their counterparts in neighbouring districts and circulated photographs of the escaped prisoners among personnel. A case has been registered, and the investigation is underway.

Police records indicate that most of the escapees are young men aged between 19 and 26. They hail from various districts across Tamil Nadu, including Madurai, Sivaganga, Ramanathapuram, Salem, Kanniyakumari and Theni.

People with information about the escapees have been asked to contact the Theni District Special Branch office at 9498101570 or the Theni District Police Control Room at 9176104100.

Police have intensified checks along the Keralam border, including in Idukki, as well as in Dindigul and Madurai, to prevent the escapees from fleeing to neighbouring states or districts.