Theni jailbreak: 17 remand prisoners fake a seizure, beat up warders and escape; four caught, 13 still out

The inmates of a single cell at the Thekkampatti sub-jail called the guards at 10.30 pm on 26 October saying a cellmate was having an epileptic fit. When the door opened they attacked the staff and ran. Seventeen police teams are searching southern Tamil Nadu and the Kerala border.

By Kanji

Published October 27, 2026 · 2 min read

Card summarising the Theni sub-jail escape: 17 fled, four caught, 17 teams searching

Seventeen remand prisoners broke out of the Thekkampatti sub-jail in Tamil Nadu’s Theni district on the night of 26 October after staging a medical emergency, and by the next morning four of them were back in custody. The other 13 are being hunted by 17 special police teams across southern Tamil Nadu and along the Kerala border.

The escape was simple. All 17 were lodged in the same cell. At about 10.30 pm some of them called the staff on duty and said a cellmate was having an epileptic seizure. When the warders unlocked the cell and went in, the prisoners set upon them and ran out through the open door. Grade II constable Thangapandi took a blow to the head and is being treated at Theni Government Medical College and Hospital; two other staff members were also injured.

Four back in custody

The first escapee, Praveen Kumar, was caught within hours. Silambarasan of Theni, and Raja Sikandar and Rajkumar, both from Madurai, were picked up in the early hours of 27 October during the search. South Zone Inspector General Vijayendra Bidari confirmed the four arrests.

Those still out are Karuppasamy alias Madhan, Dharunkumar, Pandiselvam, Thirupathi, Ponmuthuselvam, Meenatchisundaram, Sabarinathan, Rejin, Nisanth, Muthu Ilangovan, Karthik Raja, Prasanth alias Linga Prasanth and Solaimugileswaran. Many of them come from Madurai, Ramanathapuram, Salem and Villupuram districts, and police are watching the routes they would take home.

The search

Theni Superintendent of Police K.S. Praveen Gowtham inspected the jail, and Kandamanur police have registered a case. Vehicle checks have been stepped up at bus stands, railway stations and the main roads out of Theni. Dindigul Superintendent S. Jeyakumar said checkposts had been set up at 16 points in neighbouring districts. Photographs of the escapees have gone to Madurai and to police in Kerala, and search parties are combing the Western Ghats forest belt and the Idukki side of the border.

The prisoners who did not escape have been shifted to Madurai Central Prison. Police have asked the public to call 9498101570 or 9176104100 with any information. Jail officials have not said why all 17 men were held in a single cell, or why the door was opened without reinforcements.

Telugu Scope graphic.