Over two hundred inmates managed to escape from District Prison Malir in Karachi last night, the Sindh police chief confirmed on Tuesday, adding that 78 were recaptured while one was shot dead.
Police officials earlier said the prisoners broke through the jail’s outer wall, which had been weakened due to the multiple low-intensity tremors felt in the area since Sunday. Police cordoned off the whole area and no one was allowed to enter or leave without ascertaining their identity.
Sindh Inspector General of Police (IG) Ghulam Nabi Memon on Tuesday told media.com that over 200 prisoners managed to escape from Malir prison late on Monday night when they were brought out from their barracks for counting due to an earthquake, out of them 78 were recaptured while teams are being constituted to re-arrest the remaining 138.
Memon, who visited the jail earlier today, said that as per his assessment and briefings of jail and police officials, after the earthquake in the area, the jail administration brought an estimated 2,000 prisoners languishing in the jail from their barracks for counting at around 12:45am.
“Most of the prisoners were drug addicts,” he noted. “The addicts’ state of mind is such that they tend to develop mob psychology. Thus, when such an atmosphere was created inside the prison, the prisoners ran by opening the door of the jail,” he elaborated.
The police chief said FC personnel deployed at the prison resorted to massive aerial firing to push them back. He said the FC fired an estimated 700 shots. He said there were an estimated 2,000 prisoners, and 213 of them managed to escape.
The law enforcers launched an operation, recapturing 78 prisoners. “During the action, one prisoner was shot dead while two others were injured,” confirmed the Sindh IG. He said the situation was now under control.
The Sindh police head said they are setting up teams to re-arrest the remaining 138 escaped prisoners. “One of the escaped prisoners was brought back to the jail by his mother,” he added. The police and jail administration had information about all escaped prisoners.
To a question, the provincial police head opined ostensibly there would be “some lapses” and the prisoners, finding an opportunity, managed to escape.
However, he said the Sindh government has decided to set up an inquiry committee to ascertain the circumstances which led to the incident and fix responsibility for it.
Police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed told media.com that one unidentified prisoner aged around 45 years old was brought dead to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre with a firearm injury. He was pronounced dead on arrival. “Doctors are waiting for police papers to conduct his post-mortem,” she added
The police surgeon said four other prisoners with gunshot injuries were also brought to the hospital for treatment.
They were identified as Mohammed Tahir, aged 28, who sustained a bullet injury on his left arm with no exit wound; Abdul Hadi, aged 25, who suffered firearm wounds on his hip joint and thigh; and the third prisoner, 35-year-old Akhter Naeem, who got a gunshot wound on his glutes.
The police surgeon said two policemen — namely Sikander, aged 22, and Mohammed Shamraiz, aged 40 — were also injured during the assault by the prisoners, adding that they were brought to the hospital for treatment of abrasions on their feet, back and neck pain.
While addressing a press conference in Karachi, Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Memon said that the government has removed the inspector general (IG) of prisons and the deputy inspector general (DIG) of prisons. “The new IG will be appointed today, and an inquiry committee will be formed as well,” he said.
He assured that there was no reason to panic or worry over the incident, emphasising that the police and FC personnel had “bravely” worked through the night to capture the inmates.
When asked by a reporter if this was an act of terrorism, he said it was not, highlighting that the jailbreak followed the earthquake tremors. Memon also reiterated that he would wait for the inquiry committee’s report.
The senior minister urged the parents of the inmates to tell them to surrender themselves.
CM Murad vows probe into ‘wrong decision’ to let prisoners out of cells
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah termed the incident “alarming” and asserted that action would be taken against those who made the “wrong” decision to let the prisoners gather in the open ground.
Responding to media queries after an event in Karachi, CM Murad said: “I do not want to say anything judgmental, but my initial thought is that it was wrong to let them out [into the ground].”
He detailed that jolts of such minor magnitude were a “good thing” as the earth releases its seismic energy in bits instead of a massive quake.
Stating that there were “some concerns” among the prisoners amid earthquakes yesterday, the Sindh CM noted that no one was usually allowed to be outside their cells after 6pm but the inmates were last night, due to which they assembled into a mob.
Murad said: “Definitely, those who made this wrong decision would be punished […] There are more than 6000 prisoners in the Malir jail.
“As far as I know, they also snatched weapons and there was also firing,” Murad noted, adding that one prisoner died.
CM Murad said the incident would be investigated, highlighting that most of those who escaped had “committed petty crimes” and, according to the latest details, there was no “major terrorist or foreigner” among them.
“My request to them (escaped prisoners) would be to surrender, otherwise, their involvement in the jail break incident will amount to terrorism or bigger cases,” he added.
Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hasan Lanjar had also visited the Malir prison last night. Sindh Prisons Minister Ali Hasan Zardari had earlier taken notice of the jailbreak and sought a report from the IG and DIG prisons.
IG Memon telephoned and discussed the incident with Sindh Prisons IG Qazi Nazir, said a statement issued by the police chief’s spokesperson Syed Saad Ali.
Memon said police will provide all possible support to recapture the escaped prisoners. “Due to the timely response of police and other law enforcement agencies, many prisoners were immediately caught,” he said.
“Prisoners of drugs and minor offences are kept in Malir jail,” he said, adding that the Prisons Department and Malir Jail administration kept a complete record of every prisoner.
He continued that police teams have been formed to arrest the escaped prisoners. The senior superintendent of Malir police also gave a detailed briefing about the measures being taken to arrest the escaped prisoners. He said police cordoned off the entire area after the jailbreak.
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