MULTAN, Jan 4: Leiah and Muzaffargarh police teams have yet to apprehend the 12 prisoners who escaped from their custody on Thursday night while being taken to Leiah for hearing of their respective cases.

The teams were reportedly escorting some 44 prisoners to jails in Multan in two lorries. At least 11 constables, an assistant sub-inspector and a sub-inspector were policing them. Earlier, the prisoners were on their way to Leiah for hearing when one of the them pretended to be in pain and asked the policemen to provide him water near Sultan Colony, Sinawal police station area, Muzaffargarh.

No sooner had the officials got the bus stopped, several prisoners attacked the officials and rushed out of the vehicle. Some 12 of them fled amid fog pall.

Those escaped included Muhammad Hayat, Mushtaq Husain, Sabir Husain, Mushtaq Husain, Muhammad Sarwar, Arshad Ali, Muhammad Shafiq, Muhammad Shabbir, Gulzar, Muhammad Khurshid, Muhammad Rafiq, and Muhammad Afzal.

As many as 11 of them belong to Leiah district which has neither jail nor any judicial lock-up. The police have to bring the accused under-trial in the district courts from the Central Jail, Dera Ghazi Khan and Multan, almost three-hour drive from the both destinations to Leiah.

Meanwhile, the Sinawal police have arrested the police staff escorting the bus which the prisoners fled from. Those arrested include SI Sher Muhammad, constables Muhammad Iqbal, Muhammad Akram, Muhammad Ayub, Muntazar Abbas and driver Ghulam Nabi after registering cases under section 224 and 225 PPC.

When contacted, superintendents in the Muzaffargarh and Leiah police, Rao Farman Ali and Azhar Ameen Khokhar, told Dawn that a massive search operation had been launched in the area, adding the fugitives took advantage of the dense fog.

Farman said the police sleuths had followed the footsteps of the fugitives that ended at Head Muhammadwala near the Chenab. A broken piece of handcuff had also been found in the vicinity, he added.

The fugitives might have entered Multan by crossing the river, he opined.

The police sources in Multan claimed they were not informed by the police teams concerned about the happening. We learnt about it the next morning through local newspapers, a senior police official claimed.