Theni jailbreak: all secured escaped prisoners will be relocated to different locations

District Jail at Thekkampatti near Andipatti in Theni district Photo Credit: G. Karthikeyan

All the 17 remand prisoners who escaped from Theni District Jail in Thekkampatti and were later apprehended will be shifted to different jails across the state, Deputy Superintendent of Police Vishnu Priya said here on Thursday (October 29, 2026).

Speaking to the media, Mrs. Višnu Prija said that all the 17 persons who escaped from the jail on Monday evening were caught after about 40 hours of intensive search by 17 special teams.

She said that the arrested persons have been detained in Thekkampatti jail and will soon be shifted to central jails in Palayamkottai (4), Coimbatore (4), Cuddalore (3) and Salem (6).

She said that since the time they came to know about the jailbreak, the police officials coordinated effectively under the guidance of Inspector General of Police Vijayendra Bidari, SP Praveen Gowtham and Jeyakumar to carry out the difficult job.

The mountainous terrain was a big challenge in Theni district. In addition to the police teams, many village reporters also worked positively, according to her.

On further questioning, the DSP said that Linga Prasanth, one of the key accused, appeared to be the mastermind behind the jailbreak. She also said that the preliminary investigation showed that all of them wanted to escape from the prison and had no other motive.

Published – 30 Oct 2026 0:14 IST