Tamil Nadu jailbreak: 13 of 17 escapees caught after hunt using drones

 Tamil Nadu jailbreak: 13 of 17 escapees caught after hunt using drones 

Ahamed Ali & Ram Sundaram tnn 28.10.2026

Theni (Tamil Nadu): Less than 24 hours after 17 remand prisoners escaped from a sub-jail in Theni in the biggest jailbreak in Tamil Nadu in three decades, police captured 13 of them following an extensive manhunt involving scores of personnel and drones. Four escapees were caught during an overnight search, while another was trapped and brought back to prison by an alert auto driver. 

The rest were nabbed after being traced to a forest near the prison with the help of drones. Police have tightened surveillance along the interstate border and sought help from Keralam. DGP (prisons) Sandeep Rai Rathore attributed the escape to “human error” and a breach of security protocol. 

Nine prison staff have been suspended, while a detailed probe is under way. The incident has also exposed security lapses as the centralised siren system was not functioning when the inmates escaped. Prisons dept minister CTR Nirmalkumar said govt would ensure that all the escaped prisoners were captured. Preliminary inquiries found that five of the prisoners, accused in a murder case, had planned the escape and other inmates of their block joined them. 

Prison officials said one inmate faked an epileptic seizure. When a prison staff member came to his rescue, other inmates threw a blanket over him, assaulted him and snatched the keys. They attacked other personnel, too, before fleeing through the main entrance. One prison guard was severely injured in the attack, while two others had minor injuries. 

The first breakthrough after the escape came around 1am on Tuesday. One of the escapees, Praveen Kumar, who hid behind bushes near a watchtower outside the prison premises, was unable to move after thorns injured his feet. He returned and sat near the tower, where police apprehended him. By then, 300-odd personnel were on the nightlong search operation and split into 17 teams. 

Around 6.45 am, police caught three more inmates. One was intercepted near Velayuthapuram, while two others were found hiding near a school. “Villagers who noticed suspicious movements alerted police, helping the teams narrow their search,” said a sub inspector from the special team stationed there.