• Hundreds of mobile phone sets, iron rods, cutters and gas cylinders seized
• Extensive damage caused to barracks, hospital by rioters
• ‘Escape route’ also unearthed during search operation

LARKANA: The extent of damage caused to the Larkana Central Prison by several hundred agitating inmates appeared to be greater than one could guess and the fact came to light when the DIG Jails, Raja Mumtaz, inspected various sections following return of near-normalcy inside.

Senior superintendent of the Larkana jail Ashfaq Kalwar, speaking to Dawn on Saturday evening revealed that the ongoing unrest had been continuing since March 26, when the inmates had started disobeying jail officials by refusing to “give total” — a term used for inmates’ return to their respective barracks in the evening after day’s rigour. For almost three-and-a-half months, the inmates had been continuing their disobedience over alleged harsh treatment on the part of jail officials. Their complaints included denial of drinking water and adequate and good quality food; denial of proper and timely treatment to ailing inmates; harsh and insulting behaviour by jail officials; and excessive power suspension (to their barracks) in the extremely hot weather conditions.

The jail authorities refute all these allegations, saying that the protest was only aimed at avoiding the ‘operation clean-up’, planned to recover prohibited items from inmates. The inmates had been uploading audio and video messages to the mainstream and social media over the last few weeks to seek action against jail officials by the higher authorities and judiciary. The jail chief said these messages were sent through mobile phones, though no inmate was allowed to keep phones.

Damage to jail properties

Mr Kalwar revealed that the jail hospital was ransacked and extensively damaged in arson attack during agitation. The X-ray and ultrasound machines, patients’ beds, stretchers and all allied equipment, gadgets and instruments were destroyed when the agitation had turned into violent rioting in its early episode. Barracks and their roofs were also damaged.

At one stage, apprehending that constables could be held hostage by the rioters, police force was distanced from agitating inmates, he conceded.

Realising the fact that the violence could not be put down by using force, the jail authorities made different offers to the agitating inmates which included their shifting to a prison of their choice. This might have worked as a good number of inmates opted for their shifting. However, they had to hand over all prohibited items they possessed to jail officials.

“Hundreds of mobile phone sets, iron rods, cutters and gas cylinders were seized from them,” he said.

The jail chief showed to this correspondent five to six sacks, present in his office, containing the seized mobile phones. Roughly saying almost each one possessed a mobile phone to keep himself in touch with facilitators outside, he said. He did not rule out the possibility of prisoners having concealed more mobile phones and other prohibited objects by digging holes in the ground on the jail premises.

During a search, Mr Ka­lwar said, “escape routes” were found within the confinement areas.

Strategy to establish writ

Pointing out that normalcy had finally returned to the jail, he said hardly 100 more inmates now remained to be handled and made to ‘give total’. Their barracks were now comparatively in good condition, he said.

The jail chief said that in order to address the issue of overcrowding in the prison and containing disturbances, a district jail was established within the building of the special women prison, Larkana city. The strategy was to shift undertrial prisoners to that jail and not allowing in any new prisoner. The inmates of the women prison were shifted to Sukkur, he said.

Till June 2, the central prison’s population was reduced from 790 to 685 as UTPs’ were shifted to the district jail and the condemned and convicted ones to different jails in Sukkur, Shikarpur, Karachi, Khairpur and other cities.

On the one hand, the jail administration held consultations with other stakeholders and took on board the IGP, senior Rangers officers and other officials for launching the operation clean-up and, on the other, it mounted pressure to weaken the inmates’ strength by applying psychological tactics and creating fear among them, he said.

Under this pressure, most of the agitating prisoners accepted the offer of their shifting to a jail of their choice, he added.

“We can now comfortably undertake the repair and renovation work of the damaged barracks, hospital and other structures, said Mr Kalwar.

Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2022