17 prisoners fake a seizure, attack guards and escape Tamil Nadu jail; 13 still missing
PTC Web Desk: Seventeen undertrial prisoners broke out of the Thekkampatti sub-jail near Andipatti in Theni district late on Monday night, after staging a medical emergency to get the guards to open their cell. The police said four of them were caught again soon after, leaving 13 still on the run on Tuesday.
How the escape happened
According to the police, the prisoners were all held in a single shared cell. A few of them began shouting for the warden, saying a cellmate was having a severe epileptic seizure and needed help right away. When the staff unlocked the door and went in, the inmates attacked them, overpowered them and ran out of the building. Three prison officers were injured.
#WATCH | Theni, Tamil Nadu: Police intensifiy the search for escaped undertrial prisoners from Tamil Nadu's Theni sub-jail.
Security personnel conducting intensive checks at bus stands across the Kavi Vilakku area following the jailbreak. https://t.co/Egie8zXP7v
— ANI (@ANI) October 27, 2026
Search spreads across states
The police have started a large manhunt covering several districts of Tamil Nadu and the Kerala police have been told to stay alert. Search teams are combing the forest patches of the Western Ghats and parts of Idukki district across the border.
By Tuesday morning, the police had re-arrested four escapees: Praveen Kumar, Silambarasan, Raja Sikandar and Rajkumar.
Inspector General of Police (South Zone) Vijayendra Bidari has set up 17 special teams to trace the others. Vehicle checks have also been stepped up in neighbouring Dindigul, since many of the undertrials come from Madurai and nearby areas. Local police stations are on high alert. A source said a high-level inquiry has begun into the security lapses at the sub-jail.
The escape has quickly turned into a political issue, with opposition parties attacking the ruling TVK and Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay over law and order.
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami called the news shocking. In a statement, he said the government’s handling of the law department, the electricity department and now the prisons department was drawing ridicule and pointed out that a single minister, R Nirmal Kumar, holds all three portfolios. He also referred to the earlier escape of two prisoners from Puzhal Jail in Chennai. If guards can be attacked inside a prison, he asked, how can ordinary people feel safe on the roads?
BJP chief spokesperson Narayanan Thirupathy described the incident on X as a humiliating failure for the TVK government. He said it was not a sophisticated breakout but a simple trick that worked because of weak prison security. He also said a Grade II staff member, Thangapandi, suffered a head injury in the attack.
The police have not yet named the 13 prisoners still at large. This report will be updated as more arrests are made.
- PTC NEWS
