Nine prison staff members have been suspended for dereliction of duty following the escape of 17 undertrial prisoners from Tamil Nadu's Theni sub-jail, Prisons Director General of Police Sandeep Rai Rathore said on Tuesday. "Nine prison staff are placed under suspension for lack of duty," Rathore said, according to news agency ANI.

Source: ANI via Latestly

A total of 17 undertrial prisoners escaped from the sub-jail at Thekkampatti in Andipatti on the night of October 26–27. One escapee was arrested earlier and four more were apprehended during combing operations, taking the number recaptured to five, while 12 remain at large, ANI reported.

Source: ANI via Devdiscourse

According to police, the inmates allegedly used a medical emergency as a pretext to get prison personnel to open their shared cell. They then attacked the guards and fled the premises. Three prison personnel were injured in the incident; Grade II Police Constable Thangapandi sustained a head injury and was admitted to hospital, while two others suffered minor injuries.

Rathore arrived at Madurai airport from Chennai on Tuesday and proceeded to the Theni sub-jail to conduct an on-site investigation into the circumstances surrounding the jailbreak. Inspector General of Police (South Zone) Vijayendra Bidari said 17 special teams have been formed to trace the remaining inmates. Police have intensified the search, deploying drones and conducting intensive checks at bus stands across the Kavi Vilakku area, along with combing operations and vehicle checks.

Source: ANI via Latestly

NDTV reported that the suspended staff include two chief head warders, one Grade I warder and six Grade II warders. The jailbreak has drawn sharp opposition criticism of the state government over prison security and law and order, with DMK president M. K. Stalin and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami both attacking the government over the escape.

Source: India Today via News89