• Judge says police assigned no specific role to any suspect
• Inmates tell court they temporarily left jail premises due to chaos caused by earthquake, returned once situation normalised

KARACHI: As many as 115 prisoners escaped from District Jail Malir have been rearrested and booked in a terrorism case along with remaining fugitives, a police officer informed an anti-terrorism court on Thursday.

Officials said that the Shah Latif Town police station registered a case pertaining to the jailbreak and escape of 216 inmates under different sections of the Pakistan Penal Code and the Anti-Terrorism Act on the complaint of prison official Zulfiqar Ali Peerzada.

On Thursday, the investigating officer of the case produced 115 prisoners recaptured following the jailbreak before the administrative judge of the ATCs at the judicial complex inside the central prison.

He informed the court that 115 fugitives were apprehended outside the prison and sought their physical remand for 14 days to arrest remaining 101 inmates.

However, the court sent the recaptured the undertrial prisoners (UTPs) to prison on judicial remand as it did not find any reason to hand over the custody to the police.

“Firstly that the accused persons are already UTPs in other cases, secondly no specific or individualised role has been attributed to each of the accused person, thirdly no fresh recoveries or evidence are shown to be dependent upon custodial interrogation.

“It is further noticed as it is seem that IO has brought this matter so haphazardly as nor he brought proper jail record duly signed by the concerned jail authorities showing all UTPs as listed in this FIR and surprisingly he initially submitted the record of one hundred eighteen (118) arrested UTPs but then altered with his own pen the number as one hundred fifteen (115) UTPs, whereas memo of arrest showing one hundred eighteen (118) arrested UTPs and IO also altered too one hundred fifteen (115) UTPs,” the judge stated in the order.

It added that the IO failed to produce the case diaries, witnesses, recovered case property, and the medical record of the injured police official.

The court observed that the IO’s claim appeared to be unconvincing that such a large number of UTPs were arrested outside the prison after the jailbreak.

When the court inquired from the detained UTPs about the circumstances of their arrest, they unanimously stated that they did not escape.

According to them, during the earthquake, the roof of the jail collapsed and a wall was partially damaged. In the chaos that ensued, they sought help from the jail authorities, who themselves were attempting to reach a safe location.

The inmates further informed the court that they had exited the premises temporarily but returned once the situation normalised. They alleged that the jail police later falsely showed them arrested.

The court observed that these statements created ambiguity, casting doubt over the alleged offence.

The court directed the IO to submit a report under Section 173 of the criminal procedure code along with all relevant record and proper list of arrested UTPs and their role on or before July 1.

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2025