The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday transferred Director General of Prisons (DGP) and Correctional Services Sandeep Rai Rathore, days after 17 undertrial prisoners staged a jailbreak at a sub-jail in Theni district before being recaptured.Rathore has now been posted as Director General of Police and Chief Vigilance Officer of the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) in Chennai.Additional Director General of Police K Shankar, who was serving as the head of the Enforcement Bureau CID in Chennai, has been appointed as the new DGP of Prisons and Correctional Services. The transfer orders were issued by Principal Secretary to the Government, A Karthik.The administrative reshuffle comes after the escape of 17 inmates from the Thekkampatti sub-jail in Theni district on Monday night in what police described as a planned jailbreak.
ALL 17 ESCAPEES RECAPTUREDRathore's transfer came a day after police caught the final two fugitives, identified as Tirupathi and Meenakshisundaram, bringing the massive search operation to an end.According to police, the inmates had orchestrated the escape around 10 pm on Monday by staging a fake medical emergency. One of them pretended to suffer an epileptic seizure, prompting a prison guard to enter their cell to provide assistance.
The inmates overpowered and assaulted the guard before seizing the keys to the main gate and fleeing towards nearby forested areas.During their escape, the inmates travelled on a motorcycle from the Aranjanaipudur area towards Uthamapalayam. They later borrowed a mobile phone from a stranger in Ammachipuram to contact associates, who allegedly provided them with money, clothes and vehicles.The search operation involved 17 specialised police teams, five Special Task Force units and four Tamil Nadu Special Police battalions.
Drones were also deployed to scan dense forest areas and locate the fugitives.ESCAPEES TO BE SHIFTED TO HIGH-SECURITY PRISONSWith all 17 inmates back in custody, authorities have begun the process of transferring them to high-security correctional facilities across the state.Five of the escapees were produced before a judicial magistrate on Tuesday and remanded to judicial custody until November 10. Another eight were produced in court on Wednesday and remanded until November 11.
Those arrested on Wednesday were scheduled to be produced before the court on Thursday.After the completion of legal formalities, the inmates will be shifted to central prisons in Salem, Vellore, Cuddalore and Puzhal.Theni Superintendent of Police (SP) Praveen Gowtham said preventing the escapees from crossing the state borders was the primary focus of the operation. Police are continuing their investigation into the circumstances surrounding the jailbreak, including the possible motives and those who may have masterminded it.- Ends(with inputs from PTI)