PESHAWAR, Dec 8: Two prisoners escaped from the district courts’ judicial lock-up here on Monday, police officials said.

The two policemen, on duty at the time of the occurrence of the escape bid, Madad Khan and Barkat Ali, were put in quarter- guard on orders of senior police officials. An FIR has been registered at the East Cantonment police station against the two escaped prisoners.

Both the prisoners, Khaista Gul of Abdara and Alamzeb of Gulbahar, were brought to the district courts on Khyber Road along with other prisoners from the central prison for hearings of their respective cases.

It was learnt that they skipped away from the lock-up as the guard concerned was taking away some of the prisoners to the court. Both of them are stated to be hand-cuffed. They were to be produced before the court of magistrate Wajid Ali Khan.

One of the policemen concerned was recently transferred from the traffic police and he was not fully-trained to handle prisoners in the judicial lock-up.

Both the accused were charged in narcotics cases. The accused Khaista Gul is charged in an FIR registered at East Cantonment police station on Nov 8 under the Prohibition (Enforcement of Hudood) Order, 1979 and Arms Ordinance. The other accused, Alamzeb, is charged in a case registered at the Gulbahar police station on Nov 22 under the Control of Narcotics Act, 1997.