Chennai, Oct 27:
The escape of 17 undertrial prisoners from the Thekkampatti sub-jail in Theni district has triggered a political attack on the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government, with DMK president M K Stalin, DMK deputy general secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin and AMMK general secretary TTV Dhinakaran questioning the State’s prison security and law-and-order machinery.
The prisoners allegedly attacked prison personnel and escaped from the facility late on Monday night. The incident has raised concerns over security arrangements in Tamil Nadu’s prisons, particularly as it follows an earlier escape involving two prisoners from Puzhal Central Prison in Chennai. Police have launched a search operation to trace the fugitives, while the prison department has initiated action against personnel in connection with the incident.
In a post on X, Stalin criticised the TVK government, saying that while criminals outside prisons were committing offences, inmates inside were also managing to escape. Referring to the earlier incident at Puzhal, he said the State had witnessed another major prison break before the shock of the previous escape had subsided. He noted that the simultaneous escape of 17 prisoners was reportedly the largest such incident since 1995 and questioned how it could happen in 2026, when security and surveillance systems were expected to be more advanced. He accused the government of failing to protect the public and alleged that people had been left to safeguard themselves.
Udhayanidhi Stalin also condemned the escape and questioned the state of prison administration under the TVK government. He asked what measures Chief Minister Vijay had ordered across the State’s prisons following his recent inspection of Puzhal Central Prison. Pointing to the escape of prisoners alongside incidents involving missing children, he alleged that the developments reflected a breakdown in law and order. He urged the government to apprehend all the escapees immediately and strengthen security at prisons across Tamil Nadu.
Dhinakaran described the escape as shocking and called for urgent steps to recapture the prisoners and tighten prison security. He said the government should have learnt lessons from the earlier Puzhal incident and taken preventive measures. Instead, he alleged, the administration had failed to address lapses in the departments concerned. He also linked the incident to public concerns over a series of murders and other law-and-order problems in the State, saying the escape of 17 prisoners at one time had heightened anxiety over public safety.
The three leaders’ remarks have placed the spotlight on the TVK government’s handling of prison security and policing. Their criticism centres on whether adequate preventive measures were taken after the Puzhal escape and whether the latest incident points to wider shortcomings in surveillance, staff deployment and emergency response. The government and prison authorities face the task of accounting for the security breach while ensuring that the remaining escapees are traced and apprehended.
Police are continuing their search, with special teams deployed and vehicle checks intensified in neighbouring districts. The investigation is expected to establish how the prisoners coordinated the escape, how they overpowered the personnel on duty and whether there were lapses in security protocols. The findings could determine what further disciplinary or administrative measures are required across the State’s prison system.