Tamil Nadu recaptures 15 after Theni jailbreak, tightens prison security
publishers 25articles 34first reported 27 Oct, 02:45 UTCdeveloping since 27 Oct · 5 editions
Tamil Nadu police had recaptured 15 of the 17 remand prisoners who escaped from Theni district jail on Monday night, with two still at large on Wednesday, October 28.
The prisoners allegedly told a jail official that an inmate was suffering an epileptic seizure. When the cell was opened, they attacked the official and fled through the jail’s main entrance. At least one guard suffered a head injury.
Police formed 17 search teams and deployed more than 300 personnel, vehicles and high-definition drones across roads, hills and forests near Theni and the Kerala border. Five prisoners were caught during initial searches and eight more were found in a forest area on Tuesday. Police arrested Ponmuthu Selvam and Regin on Wednesday, bringing the total recaptured to 15.
Nine prison staff members, including three head constables, have been suspended. Police registered a case against all 17 prisoners and continued questioning those recaptured.
Following the escape, prisons chief Sandeep Rai Rathore said armed warders would be deployed at watchtowers in district jails and authorised to open fire if attacked or to prevent a jailbreak. Officials are also conducting security audits and reviewing how inmates are assigned to cells, after an initial inquiry found that five prisoners linked to the same case had been housed together and allegedly helped plan the escape.
Former chief minister M.K. Stalin criticised the government over the incident, while the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam’s IT wing responded by accusing the previous DMK administration of failures during its tenure.
HOW THIS STORY WAS MADE
Written from 5 articles, 5 with the publisher's own text; 2 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 36 h after the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
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- Source articles
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- Given to the writer
- 5, 5 with the article's own text
- Independent newsrooms
- 2
- This version written
- 36 h after the record first saw the story
- Second model (editor)
- kept as written
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- Human review
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WHAT THE EDITOR DID
The second model checked the writer's draft against the same sources and published it as written.
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