A fake medical emergency, an audacious jailbreak and a 36-hour search operation that ended with 17 prisoners being recaptured in India's Tamil Nadu state. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing BBC News.
The incident began on Monday night after 17 men escaped from a prison in Theni district after overpowering guards. The prison was housing 334 inmates against a capacity of 200, leaving authorities unable to maintain control. All escapees were undertrials, and 18 of them were in one cell.
On Monday at 2230 local time (17:00 GMT), one prisoner acted like he was having a seizure. Cellmates shouted for help, and a jail official responded but was overpowered. The prisoners then attacked two other guards, took keys, opened the main gate and fled. One of the 17 returned immediately. Several prison personnel were injured.
Police sources told BBC Tamil they were examining possible collusion between prison officials and the escaped men. Sandeep Rathore, Director General of Police for Prisons in Tamil Nadu, said the jailbreak was caused by "human error" and a clear breach of security protocol. Only four guards were on duty, far below the prescribed 1:6 ratio (34 guards for 200 prisoners).
Police launched a manhunt with forces from across the state. "Advanced technology, drone surveillance, CCTV footage analysis, and the tireless efforts of police personnel played a crucial role," the department said on X. Four men were arrested at a bus station, the fifth in a tuk-tuk. A drone search of a forest led to eight more captures. Two more were captured with drone surveillance, and the last two surrendered on Wednesday. All 17 have been moved to high-security prisons.
Rathore said all prisons in the state would be audited. The incident evoked memories of the 1995 jailbreak when 43 suspected militants escaped from a special camp through a 153-foot tunnel. Some were never recaptured.
The incident has sparked a conversation on overcrowding in Indian prisons. The National Crime Records Bureau's 2023 report showed a national occupancy rate of 120.1%. Undertrial prisoners make up more than 73% of India's total prison population. Human rights groups and legal experts have raised concerns about delays in investigations and trials.