Two Special Sub-Inspectors (SSI) and a head constable were placed under suspension in connection with a prisoner escaping from custody here on Wednesday (July 22, 2026).

According to the police, Naresh Kumar, a resident of Omalur in Salem district, had 14 pending cases, including murder and robbery, against him. He was lodged in Coimbatore Central Prison, and on Tuesday (July 21, 2026), the police took him to the Salem Court in connection with his escape from Salem Government Hospital while he was in treatment for COVID-19 in 2020.

The court awarded one year of imprisonment in the case. Following this, SSI Govindasamy (58) and Subramanian (59), and head constable Jagadeesan, of the Salem Government Hospital station, took Naresh to Coimbatore Prison in a van.

On Tuesday night, while they reached Madathupalayam on Coimbatore-Salem National Highway in Erode district to attend nature’s call, the van came to a halt, and at that time, Naresh escaped. The SSIs and head constable were unable to catch him.

Following this, on Wednesday, the city police commissioner K. Joshi Nirmal Kumar issued suspension orders for the SSIs and the head constable for negligence in duty.