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, AIADMK leader Edappadi Palaniswami, DMK deputy general secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin and AMMK general secretary TTV Dhinakaran questioning the State’s prison security and law-and-order machinery.
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.
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami condemned the escape of 17 prisoners from the Theni district prison, calling it shocking and questioning the TVK government’s handling of law and order. He said the Law, Electricity and Prisons departments had come under criticism over alleged corruption, court reprimands, power cuts and security lapses, despite being headed by the same Minister. Referring to the earlier escape of two prisoners from Puzhal prison, he questioned the effectiveness of Chief Minister Vijay’s inspection and alleged that the government was neglecting public safety amid rising murders, crimes against women, drug-related incidents and missing children. He urged the government to recapture the fugitives and focus on restoring law and order across Tamil Nadu.
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.