17 undertrials escape from jail in Tamil Nadu; arrested; 9 jail staff suspended

Chennai: Seventeen undertrial prisoners who escaped from a sub-jail in Tamil Nadu’s Theni district by allegedly staging a medical emergency, attacking jail staff and snatching keys were arrested within 48 hours following an intensive police operation. Nine jail staff members have been suspended for alleged dereliction of duty, while the Tamil Nadu Prisons Department has ordered a security audit across prisons in the state.

According to findings shared with NDTV, the escape plan was allegedly conceived around 7 pm on Monday and executed approximately three hours later. Investigators believe the idea emerged after some inmates became angry over the rejection of their bail pleas.

Linga Prasath, 26, from Madurai, has emerged as the alleged mastermind who suggested using a medical emergency as a diversion. Muthu Elangovan, also 26 and facing robbery cases, allegedly acted on the suggestion by pretending to suffer an epileptic seizure, prompting jail personnel to respond.

As staff approached, other inmates allegedly raised a hue and cry before the group came out of their block and attacked personnel with kitchen equipment. They allegedly overpowered staff near the entrance, snatched the keys and fled the facility.

Vijayendra Bidari, Inspector General of Police for the South Zone, told NDTV that initial findings from questioning the prisoners indicated that the plan had taken shape spontaneously that evening.

“From our cross-questioning findings so far, the escape idea appears to have been given mainly by Linga Prasath, who is partially handicapped, on that day evening only when some of the inmates were discussing that their bail got cancelled. It appears to have been taken up spontaneously thereafter by others,” he said.

The escape triggered an extensive search operation, with police teams initially focusing on the densely forested areas of Theni district, where the remaining prisoners were suspected to be hiding. Special teams conducted combing operations, while checkposts were established at 16 locations to prevent the escapees from leaving the area.

Police initially secured four escapees — Praveen Kumar, Silambarasan, Rajkumar and Raja Sikander — while the search continued for the remaining 13. Subsequent updates confirmed that all 17 undertrials had been arrested within 48 hours of the jailbreak.

Investigators have questioned the escapees to reconstruct the sequence of events and establish the individual roles allegedly played by each of them. The block housed 32 undertrials, and authorities are also examining whether any of the inmates who remained behind played a passive or supportive role.

The escapees were facing various criminal cases, including attempted murder, robbery, organised crime, snatching and drug-related offences. They were predominantly young adults, largely between 19 and 26 years of age, and hailed from districts including Madurai, Sivagangai, Ramanathapuram, Salem, Kanniyakumari and Theni.

Following the incident, nine jail staff members were suspended for alleged dereliction of duty. The Tamil Nadu Prisons Department has also initiated a security audit across prisons in the state, with a gap analysis planned by the end of the month.