A feigned epileptic fit appears to have set off one of Tamil Nadu’s largest prison escapes in decades, with 17 inmates allegedly overpowering a guard who entered their cell to respond to the medical emergency and fleeing through the main gate of Thekkampatti jail in Theni district late Monday.

Four of the escapees were recaptured, while the police launched a statewide manhunt, with checks intensified along routes to neighbouring Kerala.

The escape is among the largest in Tamil Nadu since 1995, when 43 suspected LTTE militants fled a special detention camp inside Vellore Fort through a tunnel approximately 153 feet, or 47 metres, long.

Vijayendra Bidari, Inspector General of Police, South Zone, said they formed 17 special teams to trace the remaining prisoners.…