QUETTA: Six undertrial prisoners, including murder suspects, escaped from a judicial lock-up in Kalat on Tuesday evening.

Officials said the prisoners, who were under trial in a local court, broke the heavy steel door and climbed the back wall of the police station to flee.

Officials said that six prisoners, who were under trial in a local court, were held in a judicial lock-up in a police station. They managed to break the heavy steel door of the lockup and escape by climbing the back wall of the police station.

Interestingly, the police guards responsible for the judicial lock-up only discovered the break an hour later. The Inspector General Pris­oner in Quetta emphasised that the police deployed in the premises were responsible for guarding the judicial lock-up.

The police guards overseeing the judicial lockup became aware of the break an hour later. The Inspector General Prisons in Quetta stated, “Guarding the judicial lockup was the responsibility of the police deployed in the premises.”

The escaped prisoners, identified as Mohammad Arif, Abdul Qayyum, Naseer Ahmed, Nabi Bakhsh, Mohammad Ismail, and Abdul Hafeez, were reportedly hardened criminals facing murder charges under Section 302. The higher-ups in the police force suspended the personnel responsible for guarding the lock-up and an inquiry has been initiated into the escape.

Published in Dawn, January 3rd, 2024