All 17 escapees from Theni district jail apprehended in less than 40 hours: IGP South Zone

THENI With the arrest of all 17 remand prisoners who escaped from the Theni district jail, the combing operation concluded successfully on Wednesday (October 28, 2026). 17 prisoners escape from Theni district jail in Tamil Nadu shorts 1 On Monday night (October 26, 2026), the remand prisoners claimed that one of the inmates suffered epileptic seizures and required assistance. When a jail warder opened the cell, they overpowered him and escaped.

After Theni jailbreak, prison guards manning district jail watchtowers in Tamil Nadu authorised to open fire After Theni jailbreak, prison guards manning district jail watchtowers in Tamil Nadu authorised to open fire Though all prisons have watchtowers, they were previously not manned by armed guards due to a shortage of manpower or other reasons After Theni jailbreak, prison guards manning district jail watchtowers in Tamil Nadu authorised to open fire storyline 1 Subsequently, the 17 of them moved out in small groups and reached the main gate, where again, they assaulted the personnel.

After taking the keys forcibly, they made their escape. Inspector-General of Police (South Zone) Vijayendra Bidari formed 17 special teams with SPs — Pradeep Gowtham (Theni) and N. Jayakumar (Dindigul) — as coordinators. Apart from deploying the Tamil Nadu Special Police and other Special Task Force personnel, the police fanned out to the neighbouring Keralam too, in search of the escapees.

The first break came within a few hours, when the teams spotted one of the prisoners early on Tuesday (October 27, 2026). In the next few hours, they secured another four persons. Later, in the evening, the teams used three high-definition drones and secured eight more accused. On Wednesday (October 28, 2026), two other prisoners were nabbed, taking the number of persons secured to 15.

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Amid high drama, the teams, led by Uthamapalayam DSP Chandrasekar and Inspector Parthiban, finally nabbed them somewhere between Cumbum and Gudalur in the district. Take action against negligent prison officials: Anbumani Take action against negligent prison officials: Anbumani Scenes of prisoners escaping from jail, which were previously seen only in films, are now becoming a reality, says PMK leader Take action against negligent prison officials: Anbumani storyline 1 The entire combing operation was successfully carried out in less than 40 hours, the police said.