Theni jailbreak: all secured escapee prisoners to be shifted to different places

District Jail at Thekkampatti near Andipatti in Theni district

All the 17 remand prisoners who escaped from Theni district jail at Thekkampatti and secured later would be shifted to different prisons across the State, said Deputy Superintendent of Police Vishnu Priya here on Thursday (October 29, 2026).

Speaking to media persons, Ms. Vishnu Priya said all the 17 persons, who had escaped from the jail on Monday night, were caught in about 40 hours of intense searches by 17 special teams.

She said the secured persons had been detained in Thekkampatti jail and soon they would be moved to central prisons in Palayamkottai (4), Coimbatore (4), Cuddalore (3) and Salem (6).

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She said from the time they came to know about the jailbreak, the police officials coordinated efficiently under the guidance of Inspector General of Police Vijayendra Bidari, SPs Praveen Gowtham and Jeyakumar, to carry out the tough job.

The mountainous terrain was a very big challenge in Theni district. Apart from the police teams, many village intelligence persons also worked positively, she said.

To another query, the DSP said Linga Prasanth, one of the key accused, appeared to be the brain behind the jailbreak. She also said preliminary inquiries showed that they all wanted to escape from the jail and did not have any other motive.