04 November 2004	Thursday	20 Ramazan 1425

HYDERABAD, Nov 3: Members of the Hyderabad District Council here on Tuesday demanded registration of a criminal case against the superintendent of the central jail and called for his removal.

They also demanded an inquiry against the superintendent and other jail officials in the wake of an incident in which five juvenile offenders injured their hands and throats in protest against excesses of jail officials.

Rana Mehmood Ali Khan tabled a resolution, stating that five juvenile offenders had resorted to protest against alleged torture of the jail administration.

He said one of the prisoners, Shakir Ali, had fallen unconscious due to bleeding and alleged it had become a habit of jail officials to subject prisoners to inhuman treatment.

The council unanimously adopted the resolution.

Another resolution of Mr Khan criticizing officials concerned for not paying attention to the Rani Bagh (Municipal Zoo) was also adopted by the council.

He regretted that recently a lion of the zoo had died due to non-availability of treatment and animals had fallen ill and become weak due to lack of proper diet. He said the zoo was being run on commercial basis.

He said the Sindh High Court had also taken notice of decrepit conditions prevailing in the zoo.

In a resolution tabled by Yousuf Qureshi, the council recommended payment of one month salary as bonus to employees of the district council secretariat and the finance department who had been associated with budget preparation.

He said the district council secretariat had topped the list of councils in Sindh which had been organizing council affairs in a befitting manner by providing copies of minutes and running other affairs.

In another resolution of Mr Qureshi, the council called for removal of the management of the Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences and holding of an inquiry into embezzlement in the university.

Mr Qureshi said the National Accountability Bureau had seized the record of the LUMHS on the charge of corruption.

The council also demand allotment of fertile land to a woman, Mai Jindo, who had lost her two sons in the Tando Bahawal carnage and her two daughters had later committed suicide in protest against delay in dispensation of justice.