13 captured, hunt for four others underway after Tamil Nadu jailbreak

Special teams comprising personnel from the Theni armed reserve, special police force and local cops were part of the search.

Thirteen of 17 convicts who escaped a prison in Tamil Nadu's Theni district on Monday have been captured and a massive manhunt is on the nab the other four prisoners.

Police use drone surveillance to track down 13 of the 17 inmates who escaped from the Thekkampatti Sub-Jail through dense forested terrain, in Theni on Tuesday. (@SouthZoneTNpol X)

According to police, 17 special teams comprising personnel from the Theni armed reserve, special police force and local police in Theni were part of the search that led to the capture of 13 inmates.

The four convicts who are still missing were identified as K Meenakshi Sundaram, R Rejin, K Thirupathy, P Ponmuthuselvam.

How prisoners used a ruse for jailbreak

Intensive efforts are being undertaken to trace and apprehend the four escaped prisoners at the earliest, a senior police official said. Out of 17 convicts who broke out of a jail, 13 were recaptured through intensive combing operations on Tuesday.

The group allegedly overpowered guards and escaped after one of them feigned an epileptic seizure in the prison’s third block, said officers. The accused were involved in various cases including offences for murder, robbery, drug-related offences and offences under the Arms Act.

DGP DGP Tamil Nadu Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal DGP (prisons and correctional services) Sandeep Rai Rathore, IG (prisons) R Kanagaraj and others visited the jail on October 27 and reviewed the situation.

Nine prison personnel, including two jail wardens, were suspended, according to an investigating officer.

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