Remand prisoner escapes while being taken inside Coimbatore jail; EPS calls TN jailbreaks a recurring TV soap opera

CHENNAI: An undertrial prisoner escaped from outside the Coimbatore Central Prison while being led inside by the police late on Friday night (October 30). The incident comes right after the recent jailbreaks at Puzhal Central Prison in Chennai and the Thekkampatti Sub-Jail in Theni, raising serious concerns about prison security across Tamil Nadu.

According to a Daily Thanthi report, the prisoner, named Raghavan, was recently picked up by the Annur police over a robbery case. After a local court sent him to judicial custody, officers took him to the Coimbatore prison complex.

How Raghavan escaped

The Coimbatore Central Prison has two main security gates. As police were walking Raghavan from the outer gate to the inner gate, they took off his handcuffs. Raghavan used the chance to break free from the police and ran away. The Race Course police have filed a case and are searching for him.

This is the second time Raghavan has managed to escape from the police. He had eacaped during his arrest in Annur also but was caught by the police soon after.

Opposition leaders slam security in prison

The remand prisoner's escape has drawn heavy backlash from opposition leaders, with PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss and AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami slamming the state government over repeated jailbreaks.

Anbumani expressed serious concern over the rising number of prison escapes, blaming guard negligence for the incident. Pointing to the recent jailbreaks in Chennai and Theni, he said, "Such frequent escapes by prison inmates are entirely unacceptable." He called for strict action against the officials responsible and demanded stronger security across all Tamil Nadu prisons.

AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami also slammed the government on X , comparing the repeated escapes to a never-ending TV serial: "The escape of prison inmates an atrocity unheard of until now has become a recurring saga under this administration, much like a television soap opera."

EPS further questioned the government's handling of jail security, pointing out that official promises of tighter security mean little when this escape happened just hours after the Chief Minister warned prison staff against being careless.