KARACHI: Police have decided to acquire 30 prison vans as the existing ones are seen “unfit” to move undertrial prisoners from jails to courts after a recent breakdown of one such vehicle set alarm bells ringing in the provincial administration.

Just a few days ago, a prison van carrying over 50 undertrial prisoners from courts to the Landhi jail broke down on main Sharea Faisal where only two armed policemen had to guard the stationary van for at least three hours.

The incident convinced the authorities concerned to resolve the issue. Subsequently, the chief secretary called a meeting to review the situation, said a source privy to the meeting that was attended by senior police and jail officers.

“The meeting was informed that most of the prison vans are not fit enough to be used for this sensitive job. Most of them have completed their life and there is an immediate need to build a fleet of new vehicles,” the source said.

At present Sindh police managed the fleet of prison vans and movement of prisoners between jails and courts. Under the defined standard operating procedure (SOP), he added, the jail authorities informed the police section concerned about the required number of vehicles on any given day for the production of the prisoners before the courts.

“The police section concerned then arranges the vehicles and armed policemen to escort prisoners. But quite often prison vans fall short of the actual requirement. Even the ones provided are not fit enough to offer such service,” added the source.

The meeting was informed that the jails in Sindh needed some 150 prison vans considering the total number of prisoners, he said. Officials said the police had initiated a process to acquire at least 30 new prison vans, according to the source.

“In this regard, a tender has already been issued seeking bids for 30 prison vans, each having a capacity of at least 30 persons,” he added.

“In accordance with the Sindh Public Procurement Rules, 2010, the Sindh police invited bids from manufacturers and authorised dealers for the procurement of the new vehicles. It may take a month or two to complete the process.”

The meeting decided to recommend Sindh police authorities to allocate specific funds in its next fiscal budget to overcome the shortage of prison vans and ensure procurement of at least 50 per cent of the required number of vehicles by the end of 2016-17.

“Apart from the prison vans, the Sindh police in the recent tender has also sought bids for the supply of six ambulances, 125 4x2 body fabrication pickups, 90 4x4 body fabrication pickups and eight buses with 63-seat capacity each for its vehicles’ fleet,” said the source.

Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2016