All 17 escapees from Theni district jail apprehended in less than 40 hours: IGP South Zone

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Seventeen teams were formed to nab the escapees, and the SPs of Theni and Dindigul headed the search operation. | Photo Credit: G. Karthikeyan

With the arrest of all 17 remand prisoners who escaped from the Theni district jail, the combing operation concluded successfully on Wednesday (October 28, 2026).

On Monday night (October 26, 2026), the remand prisoners claimed that one of the inmates suffered epileptic seizures and required assistance. When a jail warder opened the cell, they overpowered him and escaped.

Subsequently, the 17 of them moved out in small groups and reached the main gate, where again, they assaulted the personnel. After taking the keys forcibly, they made their escape.

Inspector-General of Police (South Zone) Vijayendra Bidari formed 17 special teams with SPs — Pradeep Gowtham (Theni) and N. Jayakumar (Dindigul) — as coordinators.

Apart from deploying the Tamil Nadu Special Police and other Special Task Force personnel, the police fanned out to the neighbouring Keralam too, in search of the escapees.

The first break came within a few hours, when the teams spotted one of the prisoners early on Tuesday (October 27, 2026). In the next few hours, they secured another four persons. Later, in the evening, the teams used three high-definition drones and secured eight more accused. On Wednesday (October 28, 2026), two other prisoners were nabbed, taking the number of persons secured to 15.

From 2 p.m. onwards, the teams zeroed in on the remaining two accused — Tirupathi and Meenakshi Sundaram (brothers) — who were hiding in the hilly terrain.

Amid high drama, the teams, led by Uthamapalayam DSP Chandrasekar and Inspector Parthiban, finally nabbed them somewhere between Cumbum and Gudalur in the district.

The entire combing operation was successfully carried out in less than 40 hours, the police said.

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