MADURAI: A partially disabled prisoner, Linga Prasath, is suspected to have initiated the plan that led to the escape of the 17 remand prisoners from the Thekkampatti sub-jail in Theni on Monday night, after his chances of securing bail diminished, police said.
The inmates began discussing the plan around 6.30 pm after some of them learnt that their bail pleas had been rejected, and executed it between 9.30 pm and 10 pm, Southern Zone Inspector General Vijayendra Bidari said.
Speaking to TNIE, Bidari said Linga Prasath had suggested that the inmates break out of jail, board a train, and flee to northern states to settle down.
“Three prisoners, including Meenakshi Sundaram and Linga Prasath, were upset after their bail pleas were rejected,” he said. After 10.30 pm, the routes leading out of the area were sealed and the fugitives were forced to hide in the surrounding forest and hilly terrain.
Police also kept watch on the inmates’ relatives and parents to prevent the escapees from seeking refuge with their families. Special teams, assisted by drones and the Special Task Force (STF), launched an intensive search under the supervision of Theni SP Praveen Gautham and Dindigul SP R Jayakumar.
As the daylight set in, three specialised drones were deployed to scan the forest and locate the escapees. The aerial footage helped the teams cover extensive stretches of difficult terrain and apprehend the fugitives one by one, Bidari said.
Dismissing reports that the escapees had planned a revenge murder, the IG said the information was false. He ruled out the possibility of inmates having contacted people outside the prison using phones borrowed from the public.
Speaking to reporters in Theni, Andipatti DSP Vishnu Priya said preliminary investigations indicated that Linga Prasath had initiated the escape plan. Though his detention under the Goondas Act had been revoked, he allegedly feared that he would continue to remain in prison because of the cases pending against him.
Linga Prasath faces 26 cases, including three under the Goondas Act. Karuppasamy, Rajkumar, Tharun Kumar and Silambarasan face one case each under the preventive detention Act. The remaining 12 inmates face various cases, including theft, she said.
Several escapees sustained injuries while moving through the rugged terrain after fleeing without footwear. They allegedly tore their shirts and tied the pieces around their injured feet before continuing through the hills, Vishnu Priya said.
Two brothers, Meenakshi Sundaram and Thirupathi, were arrested near the Gudalur bypass while allegedly attempting to flee to Kerala. The cooperation of local residents also proved crucial. Police received timely information when some of the escapees allegedly attempted to contact people outside the prison, she added.
Vishnu Priya said preliminary findings suggested that most of the 17 inmates had no links with one another, barring a few. Reports that they had escaped after receiving money to carry out a murder were rumours, she said.
Escapee’s mother demands prison CCTV footage
The mother of two prisoners who broke out from the Thekkampatti prison in Theni said all the 17 inmates could not have escaped easily without the gates being opened, and demanded the release of CCTV camera footage. Speaking to reporters at the collectorate on Thursday, Aarumugathammal, mother of Meenakshi Sundaram and Thirupathi, denied reports that her sons were associated with the VKG and Vella Kali gangs. “None of the prisoners escaped by climbing the prison wall. The doors were opened, and they all walked out,” she said.ENS