December 10, 2002	Tuesday	Shawwal 5,1423

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ISLAMABAD, Dec 9: The construction of a proper judicial lockup (Bakhshi Khanna) at the district courts is in doldrums owing to lukewarm attitude of the district administration.

In spite of frequent instructions from the federal government in this regard, the district administration has failed to take appropriate measure.

The prisoners, who are brought to the courts for the hearing of their cases, are facing problems in the absence of a proper judicial lockup. The district courts lack required arrangement and space for keeping such prisoners.

The government has issued instructions for the construction of new judicial lockups at district courts in Punjab and Islamabad to facilitate the prisoners. The construction work in this regard has started all over Punjab, including Rawalpindi, but the capital administration has not taken the issue seriously.

According to sources, the existing judicial lockup in the district courts of the capital could hardly accommodate 100 people, but, as a routine practice, about 250 to 300 prisoners were brought for hearings daily.

The sources said, the lockup, comprising one small hall, had only two fans and one toilet, which, too, always remained out of water. The hall does not have any heating system to protect the prisoners from cold.

During summer, many prisoners fall unconscious due to heat, suffocation and the foul smell from the toilet. The only ventilator in the hall was closed after a prisoner tried to escape from there. There is no sitting arrangement in the hall as it always remains overcrowded. The condition of the women lockup is also not much different.

“We are being treated like animals here and no facility is available in the judicial lockup,” Tariq Aziz, a prisoner, told Dawn. He said a 48-seater van brought more than 100 prisoners to the courts from Adiala Jail.

He said the authorities concerned had adopted double standards as some rich prisoners were brought in special vehicles, and they were also not chained. They are handcuffed outside the court room. “It is not just, and all the prisoners should be treated as per jail manual,” he said.

The sources said no one could meet prisoners in the judicial lockup without the city magistrate’s permission, but the policemen allowed such meetings after taking money.

At present, an inquiry is underway against some police officials of judicial lockup in the capital district courts. These officials were accused of taking Rs500 from a woman, namely Ms Naureen, for letting her meet her mother, a prisoner, in the lockup.

Raja Zafar Siddiq, who had came to meet his relative, Mohammad Hussain, arrested under section 307, told this reporter: “I have paid Rs50 to the police officials for a meeting”. He added that the police personnel were openly taking money for giving fruit or any other commodities to prisoners.

He said, during summer, police officials took Rs10 for giving a water bottle to a prisoner, thus, making a daily earning of more than Rs1,000 each.

Sub-Inspector M. Arshad, in charge of the judicial lockup, when contacted for his comments, said 13 to 15 policemen were coming from Police Lines daily for duty at the lockup.

He denied the allegations that the policemen took bribe, saying it was an old practice to accuse police of committing corruption. He said police officials were performing their duties as per rules and regulations.

He said if there was no one to offer bribe, then how could anyone demand it. Good and bad people are found in all departments, and the police department is no exception, he added.