LAHORE, April 25: An under-trial prisoner was killed and five others, including three policemen, sustained injuries in a crossfire on the premises of district courts in the Lower Mall here on Wednesday.
The negligence to check a shopper bag containing a pistol and the payment of hush money to some judicial guards provided an opportunity to the accused to attack the guards in an attempt to escape, an injured accused told Dawn.
The police officials, who later arrived in good numbers, gave sound thrashing to the two injured they had re-arrested, accused Naveed Ahmed told this reporter at the Mayo Hospital.
Police said that three under-trial prisoners, Kashif Mukhtar, Muhammad Saeed and Naveed Ahmed, were brought to the district courts from the Kot Lakhpat jail for hearing in the murder case of sub-inspector Muhammad Riaz at 9am. From the judicial lock up, they were produced before three separate courts after 1pm.
Police said that heirs of one of the accused handed over a shopper bag containing fruits and meal to them. They said one of the shoppers was carrying a pistol.
On their way back to the jail after the hearing, accused Kashif whipped out the pistol and opened fire on guards which was retaliated. Consequently, accused Kashif died on the spot while his accomplice Naveed received a bullet injury. Their another accomplice Saeed sustained injuries with the butt of guns.
Guards Muhammad Baber and Rahat Ali also received leg injuries while ASI Muhammad Arif, who came there in another case, got his nose injured in a physical clash. The police seized the pistol. The injured were rushed to Mayo Hospital while the body was also shifted for autopsy.
The indiscriminate fire created a panic among lawyers and visitors who ran helter-skelter to save their lives. The firing also damaged some vehicles parked outside the court hall.
The three accused booked in cases of 302, 392, 395 in different police stations were facing judicial trial in the Kot Lakhpat jail.
“The moment that we came down the stairs after the completion of hearing and reached the hall in front of the judicial lock-up, accused Kashif and his accomplices threw chilly in our eyes. Later, accused Kashif whipped out the pistol and started firing,” said injured guard Baber, who received four bullets in his legs.
He said he did not leave the handcuffs, but the accused first cut his belt with a knife to get himself released and tried to run away.
When asked who opened fire on whom, he said he could not observe the situation after being injured, adding one of the accused opened indiscriminate fire in the court hall.
However, he came clean that a shopper bag, containing fruits, was received by accused Kashif from an unidentified person at around 1pm.
The injured prisoner, Naveed, 35, told this reporter at the Mayo Hospital that a person, aged around 40, handed over a shopper to accused Kashif after giving Rs500 each in bribe to both guards, who did not bother to check the shopper containing chilly powder, a pistol and a knife.
“After coming downstairs, accused Kashif threw chilly into the eyes of constables and later opened fire on them which was returned by the police,” he said.
Naveed, a resident of Hanif Park, Badami Bagh, and father of two children, claimed that his father-in-law Bao Tahir had involved him in bogus robbery and drug cases for marrying with his daughter against his wish.
He alleged that some police officials had warned them that they would soon be killed in encounters.
The Lower Mall police have registered a case under section 320, 324, 353 of PPC and 7 ATA against the injured accused on the complaint of sub-inspector Muhammad Nawaz.