LARKANA, March 1 A group of prisoners climbed to the roof of barracks at the central prison and torched bedsheets and worn-out clothes in protest against 'rude behaviour' of jail staff towards them and their relatives, but called off the protest after talks with jail officials on Sunday.

The prisoners also accused jail administration of keeping for themselves part of things their relatives brought for them during meetings and complained that they received little medical facilities and were not produced in courts regularly.

“We negotiated with the prisoners and convinced them to climb down from the barracks' roofs,” said Aurangzeb Kango, deputy superintendent of the central prison.

He wanted strict action to stop such protest, which according him, had become a routine matter, and claimed that the prisoners began protest after the jail staff caught Sajid Leghari, a policeman, taking narcotics into the jail, and wrote to high officials, recommending his transfer and action against him.

He said that Sajid was posted at the condemned ward and the matter had been reported to the Inspector General of Prisons and the minister for prisons.

He said that the jail administration had sought permission to register FIR against the erratic cop. The prisoners started protest to put pressure on jail administration to redeploy the cop but the administration would not bow to them, he said.

Normality has returned to jail after officials' talks with protesting prisoners.