NAUSHAHRO FEROZE: 10 prisoners escape, two killed in police firing
By Our Correspondent
NAUSHAHRO FEROZE, Dec 16: Two prisoners were killed when one of the policemen escorting a group of prisoners opened fire on them in the premises of the district and sessions court here on Thursday.
Later, a prisoner snatched a Kalashnikov from a police constable and opened fire on police who returned the fire. Six prisoners and three policemen were injured in the firing. Ten prisoners managed to escape during the shootout.
It is said that police brought 56 prisoners from the Sukkur Central Prison for trials of their cases at different courts here, including the sessions court. As the prisoners came out from a prison van at the gate of the sessions court, police constable Khuda Bux Rind opened fire on prisoner Ghulam Sarwar alias Saro Rind, killing him on the spot.
Another prisoner, Ali Gohar Nagore, handcuffed with Ghulam Sarwar, was critically injured and later died at the Naushahro Feroze Civil Hospital. In the meantime, prisoner Ghulam Rasool Nacho snatched official Kalashnikov from the police constable and opened fire.
Two of the injured police constables were identified as Manzoor Chahan and Ghulam Shabbir. The injured prisoners were Mohammad Paryal Vistro, Allah Jurio Khokhar, Mohammad Nawaz Khokhar, Abdul Karim, Akbar and Shahnawaz alias Shano Khokhar.
DPO Sikandar Ali Magsi, Naushahro Feroze TPO Yahya Bullo, Moro TPO Ghulam Subhan and the police force from Police Lines reached the spot and surrounded the court premises and the adjacent area.
When the DPO entered the court premises, the prisoners pelted bricks at him but he was saved by the Naushahro Feroze SHO and others. District and sessions judge Amir Ali was rescued and taken out of the court premises.
The Moro TPO and a lawyer, Qurban Moro, held talks with the prisoners and asked them to surrender but they demanded to hold talks with the district and sessions judge. However, the judge refused to hold talks with them.
The prisoners later agreed to hold talks with judicial magistrates. Nacho, the prisoner who had opened fire on police, after handing over the Kalashnikov to prisoners Ibrahim and Asghar Mangi, held talks with judicial magistrate Inayatullah Bhutto and judicial magistrate Abbas Siyal.
The prisoners surrendered before police after their three demands were accepted. Their demands were holding of an open trial, registration of a case against police constable Khuda Bux and no maltreatment to prisoners after the surrender.
Constable Khuda Bux was arrested. Talking to journalists, the DPO said 10 prisoners, Sohrab Jatoi, Sarang Solangi, Mohammad Saeed, Tahir Hussain, Ismail Awan, Jumo Bhurt, Rashid Ahmad Solangi, Ameen Pathan, Rashid Attar and Abdul Hameed Khoso, had escaped.
