TN jailbreak: 17 undertrials escape from Theni sub-jail, five recaptured

Theni (Tamil Nadu), Oct 27: In a daring jailbreak, 17 inmates of a sub-jail here gave the slip after faking a medical emergency and overpowering the prison officials, before four of the escapees’ luck ran out as the police nabbed them.
The incident drew sharp criticism from the Opposition, which questioned the administrative capability of the months-old C Joseph Vijay government, with DMK president and former CM M K Stalin claiming such an incident had happened in Tamil Nadu after 30 years.
The 17 undertrial prisoners overpowered guards and escaped from the Thekkampatti sub-jail near Andipatti in this district late Monday night, triggering a massive interstate manhunt and immediate suspension of nine prison officials for gross negligence.
The undertrials, all bunched in a common cell, staged a fake medical emergency and immediately after the prison staff on duty unlocked and entered the cell to help, the inmates launched a sudden, violent assault, overpowered the security staff, leaving three officers injured and fled the premises.
However, five of them were recaptured, police said on Tuesday. Following preliminary investigation into the major security lapse, Director General of Prisons Sandeep Rai Rathore ordered the suspension of nine prison guards and officials who were on duty during the time of the escape.
The suspensions came as part of an immediate crackdown on negligence after it was revealed that the 17 inmates managed to pull off the escape using a basic fake seizure ruse to overpower the guards.
From ‘Breaking Bad’ to ‘Prison Break’, DMK’s Stalin slams TVK govt
DMK president M K Stalin on Tuesday alluded to popular American series — ‘Breaking Bad’ and ‘Prison Break’ — to launch a scathing attack on the TVK-led government over the law and order situation, following consecutive jailbreaks in Puzhal and Theni prisons.
Reacting to 17 undertrials escaping from Theni sub-jail, he described the regime as “good for nothing.”
“Following ‘Breaking Bad’, ‘Prison Break’ has now begun in Tamil Nadu,” he said in a post on ‘X’. (PTI)