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| July 02, 2006 | Sunday | Jumadi-ul-Sani 5, 1427 |
Jail chief removed after prisoners’ protest
KHAIRPUR, July 1: The jail superintendent of the Khairpur central jail, Mr Majeed Siddiqui, was removed after talks with protesting prisoners.
The prisoners refused to obey jail rules on Saturday morning in protest against torture of prisoners, lodging them in punishment cells and non-availability of drinking water, electric fans and medical facilities.
They held hostage about 10 members of the jail staff for about twelve hours.
Protesting prisoners agreed to hold negotiations with the district administration.
District Nazim Niaz Hussain Shah along with the DPO and DCO held talks with them.
The prisoners nominated Abu Bakar Shaikh, the jail superintendent of the Larkana central jail, and Ghulam Mohammad Sario, former jail superintendent of the Khairpur central jail, to hold talks on their behalf.
Earlier, after opening of the jail in the morning, the prisoners demanded that prisoners lodged in punishment cells should be brought back to barracks.
They raised slogans against the jail administration.
They tried to free a prisoner who was in the punishment ward.
When the jail staff on duty tried to resist, the prisoners held hostage ASI Dilawar Jatoi, Ghulam Shabbir, Mohammad Hashim, Sardar Khaldi, Anwar, Ismail, Mumtaz Panhwar and Anwar Siyal.
About 80 prisoners climbed rooftop of the jail and raised slogans.
When some police officers tried to climb the rooftop of the main gate of central jail, the prisoners pelted them with stones.
The prisoners said that their relatives who came to meet them were deprived of things they brought for them and the prison staff demanded a bribe for meetings.
They said that for exemption from work in the jail, they were asked to pay bribe and prisoners were tortured on failure to pay the same and were later lodged in cells.
The prisoners demanded an inquiry into death of ASI Ghulam Asghar Abbasi and register a case against the concerned officials.
The prisoners alleged that the deceased ASI was tortured by the jail officials.
They said that the prisoners were living a very hard life in extreme hot weather.
They demanded that prisoners Sattar, Ayoub, Umer, Mahar, Rustam, Qadir Mallah and Pathano sent to a Sukkur jail should be shifted back.
Police force from Sukkur, Naushahro Feroze and other districts was called to bring the prisoners under control.
The jail administration also cut off electricity, water supply and cable.
The prisoners who returned after court hearings on Saturday were kept in different judicial lock-ups and police stations.
Fire brigade, tear gas forces, police force along with sticks have been put on alert.
A large number of journalists and cameramen of private TV channels who remained outside the jail for coverage faced hardships due to sizzling weather as well as non-availability of drinking water as some of whom fell unconscious.
This was the longest protest of prisoners in the jail.
It was learnt that the prisoners were demanding transfer of the jail superintendent.
The DPO of Khairpur said that as jail police officials were taken in hostage by prisoners, hence conducting operations against prisoners was quite risky.
He said that holding talks was good in the case.
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