KARACHI: Two senior officers of the Central Prison Karachi were arrested on Thursday over charges ranging from alleged destruction of evidences to threatening witnesses.

Jail superintendent Ghulam Murtaza Shaikh and assistant superintendent Abdul Rehman Shaikh were booked in a third case before being arrested, said DIG Amir Farooqi of the Counter-Terrorism Department while talking to Dawn.

The latest FIR (157/ 2017) was registered at the CTD police station on behalf of the state under Sections 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender), 186 (Obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 109 (abetment), 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

DIG Amir Farooqi of the Counter-Terrorism Department, who was investigating the jailbreak case, said that the two jailers were allegedly creating hindrance in investigation into the escape of the two high-profile militants linked with banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, Mumtaz alias Firaun and Ahmed alias Munna, who had escaped from the prison in June.

The suspected LJ militants were facing cases for their alleged involvement in the murder of 60 persons including members of Shia community and law enforcers.

The two jailers were also allegedly involved in ‘destroying’ evidences besides threatening ‘witnesses’ cooperating with the investigators to record their statements, he added.

The new case was registered against the two jailers on the complaint of CTD inspector Shahid Karim who has been investigating one of the cases. DIG Farooqi said this was the third case registered against them. The first case had been registered against a dozen jail officials, including the two officers, after the jailbreak. The second case was registered on the basis of recovery of heroin, mobile phones and jammers in a subsequent search operation by the Rangers inside the prison after the jailbreak in June.

They had been granted bail in the first case, while they had got interim bail in the second case.

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2017