More than 100 prisoners escaped from a prison and at least one was killed in a shoot put late Monday night in Karachi after being temporarily moved out of their cells due to mild earthquakes, officials said Tuesday.
Police officer Kashif Abbasi told reporters that 216 convicts fled Malir prison in the capital of Sindh province before morning. Of those, 78 had been recaptured. He added no one who has been convicted or is being tried as a militant has gone.
One prisoner was killed and three security officials were wounded in the ensuing shootout, but the situation has been brought under control, Abbasi said, adding that police are conducting raids to capture the remaining escapees.
Reportedly, the inmates overpowered the policemen inside the jail after being allowed to leave their cells following an earthquake. The jailbreak began just before midnight and continued into the early hours of Tuesday after hundreds of prisoners were allowed into the courtyard of the District Malir prison because of the tremors, Zia-ul-Hasan Lanjar, the provincial law minister, told reporters at the scene on Tuesday.
More than 100 prisoners escaped from a prison and at least one was killed in a shoot put late Monday night in Karachi after being temporarily moved out of their cells due to mild earthquakes, officials said Tuesday.
Police officer Kashif Abbasi told reporters that 216 convicts fled Malir prison in the capital of Sindh province before morning. Of those, 78 had been recaptured. He added no one who has been convicted or is being tried as a militant has gone.
One prisoner was killed and three security officials were wounded in the ensuing shootout, but the situation has been brought under control, Abbasi said, adding that police are conducting raids to capture the remaining escapees.
Reportedly, the inmates overpowered the policemen inside the jail after being allowed to leave their cells following an earthquake. The jailbreak began just before midnight and continued into the early hours of Tuesday after hundreds of prisoners were allowed into the courtyard of the District Malir prison because of the tremors, Zia-ul-Hasan Lanjar, the provincial law minister, told reporters at the scene on Tuesday.
“There was panic here because of earthquake tremors,” said Lanjar.
The provincial chief minister said it was a mistake for prison authorities to have allowed the prisoners to leave their cells. He urged the inmates still at large to hand themselves in, or face a serious charge for breaking out.
Meanwhile, Sindh Police Inspector General Ghulam Nabi Memon visited Malir Jail on Tuesday following the jailbreak. The IGP also held a telephonic conversation with Inspector General Prisons Sindh, Qazi Nazir, to discuss the incident in detail, according to spokesman for Sindh Police.
According to SSP Malir, the escape was met with swift police action, including an immediate cordon of the surrounding area. He briefed the IG on the measures taken to contain the situation and begin the search operation. IG Sindh assured full cooperation from Sindh Police to the Prisons Department in re-arresting the fugitives. “Prompt response by law enforcement agencies helped re-capture several inmates on the spot,” he said.
He further clarified that Malir Jail mostly houses inmates involved in drug-related and minor offenses. “All prisoners’ records are maintained by the jail administration,” the IG stated. The police teams have been formed across the province to apprehend the remaining escaped prisoners. Orders have been issued at the provincial level to expedite the arrests. “The Sindh Police will leave no stone unturned in bringing the fugitives to justice,” IG Ghulam Nabi Memon vowed.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah took serious notice of the incident and removed the inspector general of prisons from his post besides suspending both the deputy inspector general (DIG) of prisons and the jail’s superintendent with immediate effect.
Calling the incident “completely unacceptable,” the chief minister stated that it demonstrated gross negligence and inefficiency on the part of the prison administration.
“Those responsible will be held accountable,” he said, while directing the Sindh home secretary to conduct a comprehensive security audit of Malir jail and all other prisons across the province.
Senior Minister for Information and Transport Sharjeel Memon briefed the media about the decisions taken by the chief minister in the meeting. (The Nation)
