Jail break: Bail granted to ‘negligent’ policemen

KARACHI: A judicial magistrate granted on Wednesday bail to three policemen held for their alleged negligence, which led to the escape of an under-trial prisoner from Karachi Central Jail. Hafeez Rasheed, an inmate charged with the kidnap and murder of a teenage boy, escaped from the prison on February 15, breaching several security check posts. The suspect was arrested in August, 2013 in Gizri and his case is pending before a district and sessions court. Rasheed was ‘illegally’ sought to work at the residence of a prison official. He was being watched by two police guards. The practice continued for at least three days before the inmate escaped. Jail authorities, after conducting an initial inquiry, have held three guards - Safdar, Zafar and Hashmat. The accused policemen were presented before a District East magistrate who, after accepting a surety of Rs50,000, ordered the release of the suspects.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 18^th,  2016.