Second Puzhal prison escapee arrested near Chennai home, 7 prison officials suspended

Both convicts who escaped from Chennai’s high-security Puzhal prison on successive days have been arrested, while seven prison officials have been suspended.

The second convict who escaped from Chennai’s high-security Puzhal prison was arrested near his residence in west Chennai’s Kundrathur on Thursday evening, a day after the first escapee was caught.

Sujith Buhari, a Nepalese citizen serving a sentence in a theft case, escaped by scaling the prison wall on Tuesday, while Suresh, serving a sentence under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, fled while working at the prison bakery on Wednesday.

Seven prison officials have been suspended following the two jailbreaks, police said.

Buhari had been in jail in connection with a theft case since 2025, while Suresh was arrested in 2023 in a case under the POCSO Act and has been in jail since then.

A police officer said that Suresh was allowed to work at the prison bakery, located close to Puzhal prison, based on his good conduct. He escaped while attending to customers at the bakery on Wednesday, an officer said.

Suresh was arrested near his residence in west Chennai’s Kundrathur on Thursday evening after visiting a salon he frequented, police said.

After escaping from the prison, he went to his home. On Thursday, he went to the salon he had regularly visited before being sent to prison, an officer said, requesting anonymity.

He was nabbed immediately, he added.

Meanwhile, Dr Sandeep Rai Rathore, director general of police (DGP) and director of prisons and correctional services, visited the spots where the two convicts escaped from the prison on Friday.

He checked the surveillance cameras located near the escape points and instructed officials to step up security arrangements in the area.