Theni (Tamil Nadu) | A fifth prisoner, among the 17 inmates who staged a jailbreak here, was nabbed by an alert police head constable while attempting to flee in an auto, police said on Tuesday.
The escapee had hitched a ride on an auto-rickshaw at a distance away from the Thekkampatti sub-jail in the district, with the unsuspecting auto driver agreeing to drop him at Kanavilakku. En route, the driver picked up a woman passenger and was proceeding to the destination when a police head constable riding a two-wheeler intercepted the auto, identified the fugitive and asked the driver to take the "passenger" straight to the prison.
The 17 undertrial prisoners overpowered guards and escaped from the Thekkampatti sub-jail near Andipatti in this district late Monday night, triggering a massive interstate manhunt and immediate suspension of nine prison officials for gross negligence.
