LARKANA: The Larkana police remained clueless about the three women who escaped from Darul Aman on Tuesday while the two inquiry teams constituted by the Larkana deputy commissioner and SSP interrogated four policemen and two watchmen on duty on Wednesday.

Nusrat Buledi, 24, a resident of Garhi Khairo, Nooran Chandio, 22, a resident of Warah, and Muskan Shaikh, 32, a resident of Khairpur, reportedly cut the iron window grill of an upper storey room and used several dupattas to come down and escape.

Initial investigations suggested that some elements within the Darul Aman may have facilitated their escape.

Immediately after receiving the report, Larkana Deputy Commi­ssioner Ghulam Qadir Junejo constituted a three-member committee comprising Additional Deputy Commissioner-I Saifullah Abro (head), Assistant Commissioner Dr Masood Ahmed Bhutto and District Officer (social welfare) Dr Amir Abro to investigate the episode.

The Larkana SSP also formed an inquiry committee headed by City ASP Mr Tauqeer.

Moreover, a probe team of the social welfare department comprising Nuzhat Fatima (director) and Abdul Rahim Lakho (deputy director) arrived here from Karachi on Wednesday and visited the Darul Aman to record statements of several people living in the Darul Aman.

The team also met the official in charge of the Darul Aman, the police personnel associated with the investigation, and the district administration officials concerned. The team is supposed to submit its report to the provincial minister for social welfare.

Earlier in the day, two watchmen, Atta Mohammed Brohi and Allah Bukhsh Brohi, and four policemen, Mohammed Mithal, Mohammed Azam, Raja Khan and Abdul Wahab, who were on duty at the time of the three women’s escape, were taken into custody for interrogation after a social welfare officer Fahim Akhtar lodged an FIR (88/2014) under Sections 120, 223 and 224 of the Pakistan Penal Code at the Waleed police station.

ASP Tauqeer told Dawn that a few suspects had also been picked up for interrogation. He said the official in charge of Darul Aman, Mukhtiar Begum Abbasi, was grilled to ascertain facts.

He said there could be certain elements who managed the whole episode, adding that some Darul Aman officials having accepted bribe to help the women escape could also not be ruled out.

An inspection of the crime scene showed that the two locks of the Darul Aman’s main gate were intact making it evident that someone had used their original or duplicate keys to open the gate, police sources said.

Meanwhile, a joint delegation of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Qambar-Shahdadkot district chapter, and the Pirbhat Women Development Society called on the City ASP to discuss the episode.

Murad Pandrani of the HRCP and Rubina Chandio of the Pirbhat society conveyed their respective organisation’s concern over the incident and termed it ‘an administrative and security lapse’.

They said some Darul Aman staffers must have been involved in the matter. They called for strong security measures to protect the inmates who came here for shelter and protection.

They said they were worried about the lives of the escaped women, adding that there should be an impartial inquiry into the whole affair.

They appealed to the Larkana district and sessions judge to look into the matter.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd , 2014