As many as 17 convicts broke out of a jail in Tamil Nadu’s Theni district on Monday, October 26, night, and 13 of them were recaptured by Tuesday evening, said the state police. Opposition parties heaped criticism on the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government led by CM C Joseph Vijay.
Combing operations launched by police earlier on Tuesday had managed to the apprehension of four of the 17 prisoners who had escaped from the Theni sub-jail.
This is the second jailbreak incident in Tamil Nadu in the span of a fortnight. Two prisoners escaped from Puzhal Central Prison near Chennai on October 13 and 14. They were arrested on October 15. Seven assistant jailers, three from Puzhal-I and four from Puzhal-II, were suspended for alleged security lapses.
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As for the latest jailbreak, Tamil Nadu’s Director General of Prisons Sandeep Rai Rathore confirmed that 13 of the 17 prisoners had been arrested. Nine staff members of the jail, including three head constables, were suspended for the incident, he said. Efforts are on to arrest the remaining four prisoners, added Rathore.
The state police made good use of drones to recapture the escaping prisoners. One of the escapees was nabbed immediately after the jailbreak as he was seen hiding in a forest area behind the jail.
The jail, which has been functioning since January 10, 2019, has a capacity to accommodate 200 prisoners, but a total of 334 prisoners were lodged in it at the time of the 17 escaping, said police.
How it happened
On October 26 night, at about 10 pm, some jail inmates raised an alarm, saying an inmate in the third block was undergoing epilepsy. When Grade II warder Stalin Prabhu arrived to find out if the prisoner was indeed having such trouble, he was overpowered by other inmates, who soon had the main gate opened by snatching the keys and escaped.
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“From information available so far, it appears that the jail inmates escaped by a putting up a drama of one of them being unwell and suffering from fits or epilepsy. They overpowered the jail guards and escaped,” said Vijayendra S Bidari, the IGP of South Zone.
The jail administration lodged several cases against the escaped prisoners at Gandamanur police station under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections, including 121 (1) (causing hurt to public servant from performing their official duties), 296 (B) engaging in obscene acts, BNS 115 (2) (causing hurt by using weapon), among others.
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The 17 prisoners were identified as N Solai Mugileswaran, K Meenakshi Sundaram, M Karuppusamy, P Sabarinathan, P Ponmuthuselvam, G Nishanth, M Muthuelangovan, R Rejin, C Dharunkumar, K Thiruppathi, S Pandiselvam, N Karchickraja, T Praveenkumar, S Silambarasan, A Raja Sikkandhar, K Rajkumar, J Lingaprasath.
Opposition parties attack Vijay govt
Former Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin attacked the TVK government over the jailbreak incidents. “Before the Tamil Nadu people could recover from the shock of two inmates escaping from Puzhal prison (near Chennai), last week, 17 inmates have escaped from the Theni district prison,” he said, adding that the TVK government was “completely useless” and that Tamil Nadu has reached a “pathetic state” where the public has to protect themselves.
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All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami described the incidents as a “rude shock”. Recalling CM Vijay’s visit to the central prison near Chennai in July, Palaniswami said, “You went for an inspection at the central prison near Chennai. Even after your inspection, is the prison department in such a state?”
