Search for 13 escaped Theni jail inmates expands to Kerala forests

Theni: The search for 13 remand prisoners who escaped from the Theni district jail has widened to forest stretches along the Western Ghats and neighbouring Kerala, with police in both states coordinating efforts to trace the fugitives.

Seventeen inmates escaped late on Monday night after attacking prison personnel. Four were subsequently recaptured, while special teams continued searching for the remaining prisoners on Tuesday.

Kerala Police has been alerted, and combing operations are underway in forest areas, including parts of Idukki district bordering Tamil Nadu, a senior police officer said.

Photographs of the escaped prisoners have been circulated among officers at different locations across both states to assist identification.

The widening search has brought forest routes along the interstate border into focus. Teams are combing these stretches as part of the operation to locate the prisoners, while information gathered from those recaptured is being used to pursue further leads.

Police identified one of the injured prison personnel as Thangapandi, a Grade II Constable. He was admitted to the Theni Government Medical College and Hospital following the attack.

Two other personnel were also undergoing treatment, the senior officer said. Further details about their injuries and condition were not immediately available.

Authorities have not disclosed the locations from where the four prisoners were apprehended. The officer said their questioning had provided information that special teams were following up in their efforts to track down the other escapees.

Director General of Police, Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal, said a detailed investigation into the incident would follow once all the prisoners had been brought back into custody.

“Once the remaining 13 prisoners are also secured, we will conduct a thorough enquiry,” he said.

The Inspector General of Police for the South Zone said information about the escape had been shared with senior officers in Kerala and that combing operations were continuing in full swing.

The immediate priority remains locating the fugitives through coordinated searches and the exchange of information between police teams in the two states.

The circumstances surrounding the breakout and the attack on prison personnel are expected to come under scrutiny during the enquiry announced by the police chief.

As of Tuesday, authorities had confirmed the recapture of four inmates. Searches for the remaining 13 continued across identified locations, including forest areas along the Tamil Nadu–Kerala border.