RAWALPINDI: A first information report (FIR) was registered on Tuesday against the 14 prisoners who escaped from a police van a day earlier while being transported to Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail, with fresh details emerging that the fugitives threw red chilli powder at the police officials escorting them to facilitate their escape.

Along with the 14 accused, the FIR, a copy of which is available with Dawn, also nominated five police officials who were present at the site of the incident, which occurred within the jurisdiction of the Sihala police station in Islamabad, for neglecting their respective duties, enabling the prisoners to escape.

The complaint was registered under the following provisions of law: Sections 224 (resistance or obstruction by a person to their lawful apprehension), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging their duty), 186 (obstructing a public servant in the discharge of public functions), 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of a common intention) and 120-B (punishment for criminal conspiracy) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

The police officials were charged under Section 223 (escape from confinement or custody negligently suffered by a public servant) of the PPC and Sections 155-C (guilty of any wilful breach or neglect of any provision of law) and 155-D (guilty of any violation of duty) of the Police Ordinance, 2002.

According to the FIR, the police driver and complainant, Imtiaz Ahmed, stated that the incident occurred when the police van reached the Chakian stop at around 4:45pm on Monday and the prisoners started fighting inside the vehicle and shouting.

“To resolve the commotion, we started verbally telling them to stop, but they refused to listen. So I, with the help of Constable Tahir Mehmood, unlocked the van and entered it; however, the prisoners threw red chilli powder into our eyes and escaped from the van,” the driver stated.

He added that the police officials, “with great difficulty”, pulled out their weapons and attempted to chase the escapees.

Around this time, Rescue 15 was informed of the incident. The FIR stated that, upon checking, it was found that 14 prisoners had escaped from the van.

According to the FIR, the SHO of Sihala, along with a contingent of police, arrived at the scene and managed to arrest four of the 14 escapees. The FIR identified the police officials as driver Imtiaz Ahmed, Head Constable Tahir Mehmood, Constable Muhharam Shahzad, Constable Shafqat Ahmed and Constable Nazeer Ahmed.

Earlier this month, two police officials and two other persons were booked by the police after an under-trial prisoner escaped from Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) in Rawalpindi.

Last year, over two hundred inmates managed to escape from District Prison Malir in Karachi.

In the wake of the jailbreak, dubbed as “one of the largest-ever in Pak­istan” by provincial Law Minister Ziaul Hasan Lanjar, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah removed the provincial prisons chief and suspended the deputy inspector general of prisons, as well as the superintendent of the penitentiary.