11 February 2005	Friday	01 Muharram 1426

KARACHI, Feb 10: Body of an under-trial prisoner, who breathed his last at 8pm while waiting for proper medical treatment on Wednesday, could not be shifted to any hospital for post-mortem for no less than 21 hours after his death, it is learnt.

They inordinate delay in providing him prompt treatment appeared to be formalities while the time wasted in getting the post-mortem conducted was due to the process of determining the jurisdiction.

According to sources, the deceased, Rashid Afzal, 19, was an inmate of the Youthful Offenders Industrial Home (popularly known as Juvenile Jail) facing a trial under Section 364 A (kidnapping of a minor). He was taken to the Civil Hospital on Wednesday afternoon for some tests following which the doctors there found that he was suffering from tuberculosis. They advised the jail staff to rush him to the Ojha Sanatorium.

The jail staff brought the ailing prisoner back to the jail for legal formalities with regard to his shifting to the Ojha Sanatorium. However, he died during the process. Doctors at the sanatorium declared him 'dead on arrival'. His body was brought back to the jail in the evening by the jail staff who approached a magistrate for his permission to send the body for post-mortem.

The magistrate did come but refused to grant a permission on the grounds that the case did not fall in his jurisdiction. The jail staff had to obtain the required permission from another magistrate who came and completed the formality. The body was then shifted to the JPMC but the whole process had already caused a delay of 21 hours.

Responding to Dawn's queries, jail chief Qamar Husain Shah said that Rashid had not been keeping well since he was brought to the prison on Jan 1, 2004 and had to be taken to the jail dispensary and the Civil Hospital many a times during the period, though no serious illness was diagnosed.

The sources quoted Rashid as saying that his condition deteriorated on Wednesday afternoon due to which the jail authorities took him to the Civil Hospital where doctors diagnosed the disease as TB and referred him to the Ojha Sanatorium.

The sources said that Rashid died before reaching the sanatorium. The sources said that the judicial magistrate (East) was first informed of his death and requested to grant the permission for post-mortem. He arrived at the jail but regretted saying that it was not a case of his jurisdiction. The jail staff then approached the judicial magistrate (Malir) he came and allowed shifting of the body to the JPMC.

During the process, they jail authorities brought Rashid's mother, Rukhtaj Ziauddin, from the Special Prison for Women, and his father, Mohammad Afzal, from the Karachi Central Prison. Both the jails are located next to the Juvenile Jail. The parents saw the body of their teenaged son before it was sent to the JPMC.

After post-mortem, the body was to be handed over to the brother of the deceased.

Rukhtaj is facing two cases, one has been registered under the Zina Ordinance and the other pertains to forgery charge. Afzal is facing kidnapping charge.