CHENNAI: Staff shortages, overcrowding and the diversion of personnel to non-custodial duties have exposed security gaps in Tamil Nadu’s prisons, with 19 inmates escaping from two jails within a week. Nearly 10% of the 5,489 sanctioned posts remain vacant, while several prisons have been operating with unchanged staff strength for decades.
According to the prison department, Tamil Nadu has 125 prisons and correctional institutions housing around 24,000 inmates. These include nine central prisons, 13 district jails and 94 sub-jails and special sub-jails, besides other facilities. The sanctioned strength stood at 5,489 personnel as of July 31, 2026.
Prison sources said some central prisons had been functioning with the same sanctioned strength for nearly three decades, despite increasing demands on personnel.
Overcrowding further compounds the problem. The Theni district jail, with a capacity of 200, housed 334 inmates on October 26, when 17 remand prisoners escaped. India Justice Report data showed the jail had been over capacity every month from January to May this year.
A senior prison official said recruitment had not been conducted for several years. Sources estimated that around 130 personnel in each central prison were engaged in duties beyond core custodial work and sought at least 60 additional posts in each. Delayed promotions and limited career progression had also affected morale.
“Even for registering e-Prisons data, we need at least five staff members per shift, but we do not have enough personnel,” a prison staff member said.
Retired Puzhal chief warden S Karunanithi said personnel being pressured to undertake household work at senior officials’ residences was another concern.
A Grade-I staff member at Puzhal said a single guard sometimes had to supervise around 500 prisoners. At Salem Central Prison, around 40 personnel are deployed per shift for approximately 1,482 inmates. Its staff strength has remained unchanged since 1998.
Prisoner psychology
Concerns have also been raised over medical care and inmates’ psychological well-being. A recently released prisoner from Nagapattinam district jail told TNIE that medical attention was difficult to access and recreational activities were scarce.
In an order dated July 6, 2026, the Madras HC directed the state to examine and fill vacant posts of psychologists and welfare officers within six months.
Prison sources said Sudip Bogati K, a Nepalese national lodged at Puzhal as a remand prisoner, had allegedly been intimidated by fellow inmates, who told him he would not get bail. This prompted him to escape last Tuesday.
Advocate and welfare activist K R Raja said a lack of awareness about legal processes and prospects of release could cause psychological distress, sometimes prompting escapes or suicidal thoughts.
Criminologist Shankar Prakash cautioned against holding prison personnel solely responsible for the Theni escape, calling for scrutiny of wider issues, including wrongful arrests that contribute to overcrowding.
Director General of Prisons and Correctional Services Dr Sandeep Rai Rathore told TNIE that all 125 prisons had been given a month to report security gaps. “An SOP gap analysis will be conducted, involving three personnel from each prison,” he said.
(Inputs from Sneha Sivashanmugam @ Salem, Vignesh V @ Madurai and M Saravanan @ Coimbatore)
