A major security breach occurred at the Thekkampatti district jail near Andipatti in Tamil Nadu’s Theni district, where seventeen undertrial prisoners escaped after orchestrating a violent assault on prison guards on Monday night.
Police launched an intensive multi-district manhunt following the incident, successfully apprehending four of the fugitives by Tuesday morning while active search operations continue to track down the remaining thirteen escapees.
The breakout unfolded around 10:00 p.m. when one inmate reportedly feigned a medical emergency by pretending to suffer a seizure inside an enclosure.
When prison staff entered the cell to render immediate first aid, the inmates launched a coordinated attack on the guards, injuring one officer who was subsequently admitted to a local hospital for medical treatment. The prisoners then breached the perimeter and fled the premises.
Upon being alerted to the escape around 10:20 p.m., Theni Superintendent of Police Praveen Gautham and Southern Zone Inspector General of Police Vijayendra Bidari inspected the jail premises to review security lapses and interrogate on-duty staff.
IG Bidari announced that seventeen special police teams have been deployed across the district to locate the fugitives. Search operations are utilizing sniffer dogs and strict vehicle checkpoints at key transit points.
The first escapee, identified as Praveen from Madurai, was captured in a nearby forested area shortly after the breakout.
Interrogation of Praveen exposed the orchestrated seizure ruse. By Tuesday morning, three more fugitives—Silambarasan, Rajkumar, and Raja Sikandar—were taken into custody.
The facility primarily houses undertrial prisoners from Theni, Madurai, and Dindigul districts. Official sources revealed that a majority of the escapees are undertrials from Madurai, with at least three facing detention under the stringent Goondas Act.
Senior officials are currently auditing the prison’s security protocols as the investigation progresses.
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