Police Wednesday arrested the last four inmates who had fled a jail in south Theni district in Tamil Nadu, upping the tally of those arrested to 17.
One of the 17 special teams set up to locate the absconders traced two prisoners – P Ponmuthuselvam and R Rejin, according to officials. Meanwhile, brothers K Thirupathy and K Meenakshi Sundaram gave in to police at the district police station, Cumbum.
Drones Used to Track Prisoners
Ponmuthuselvam and Rejin were seized in the vicinity of Kottaipatti foothills behind the jail, amidst the thick forest.
Police continued searching the difficult terrain, with drone aircraft being used to help search for the two men. The body, which arrested them, is a team of Superintendent of Police K S Praveen Gowtham along with three other officials.
The woods around the facility had been a hindrance to the search and the authorities had mobilised a special team of searchers and have sent an air gun search unit for the missing prisoners.
Search Operation Concludes With Arrests
All the prisoners who escaped the Theni jail have been arrested, thus completing the search for all the 17 prisoners.
After the break out, police had put in place a wide-ranging investigation, cordoning off the various possible ways of getting out and setting up special teams around the supposed areas of investigation.
Officers used drones to cover a lot of forest ground and find out where the escapees were. Two of the last four prisoners were arrested during the search, the other two brothers, however, surrendered to the authorities.
The raiding had resulted in a massive security operation in the district and police had been trying to recapture all the escaped prisoners.
All 17 have now been booked and the operation to arrest the escapees has been finalised. More information on the reasons behind the jailbreak and any additional measures levied are expected to clarify the situation.