DADU, Feb 12: A prisoner was killed and 40 others with four policemen were injured when roof of a barrack of the district jail collapsed here on Friday night.

An emergency has declared in the jail where prisoners have launched a protest to put pressure on the authorities to shift them to a new building for the prison.

Due to heavy rain, roof of barrack-6 of the jail collapsed as a result Niaz Ahmed Chandio, 21, died and 44 were injured, 11 of whom are said to be in serious condition.

The seriously injured prisoners -- Murtaza, Abdul Raheem, Ashiq, Rasheed, Shahnawaz, Sudhir, Ghulam Nabi, Abbas, Sajjad, Imtiaz and Ghaffar -- were shifted to other barracks after treatment. Injured policemen Ashfaq, Ghulam Murtaza, Haneef and Pir Dino were admitted to the Civil Hospital Dadu.

Briefing journalists in his office on Saturday, superintendent of the jail Gulzar Ahmed Channa said that the building for the jail had been constructed in 1935. He added that a new building for the jail had been constructed along the Indus Highway and the prisoners would be shifted there after one month.

He said that after shifting of the prisoners to the new jail, the old jail would serve as a prison for women and juvenile offenders.

He said that he had written to engineers of the buildings department to examine other parts of building and submit a report.

He claimed that two of the injured prisoners had been admitted to the Civil Hospital.

On a request of the jail superintendent, a heavy contingent of police has been deployed outside the jail in which the prisoners have launched a protest.

They are demanding their shifting to the new jail as they fear that roofs of remaining barracks may also collapse.

KAROKARI: Two women were killed on the pretext of karo-kari in two incidents in Sehwan and Dadu on Saturday.