12 officials, personnel remanded to jail for negligence

Authorities searching for LeJ militants who escaped Karachi Central Jail Tuesday

KARACHI: A judicial magistrate remanded on Thursday a dozen police officials and personnel to prison for their alleged negligence resulting in the escape of two militants from jail.

Two members of the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) terrorist group - Shaikh Muhammad Mumtaz alias Firaun alias Sher Khan alias Shahzad alias Bhai and Muhammad Ahmed Khan alias Munna - escaped from the Judicial Complex located inside the premises of Karachi Central Jail on Tuesday.

The incident was reported a day later, as Prison Superintendent Ghulam Murtaza Shaikh, Deputy Superintendent Faheem Memon, Assistant Superintendent Abdul Rehman Shaikh, ASI Faroosh Muhammad, police commando Nawab Ali, and constables Atta Muhammad, Muhammad Amir, Abdul Ghaffor, Saeed Ahmed, Muhammad Sajjad, Tagial Naseer and Nadir Ali were suspended by the authorities.

Taking action against them, Prisons Deputy Inspector General Ashraf Ali Nizamani wrote a letter to the New Town Station House Officer to register a case against the officials and escaped convicts. The case, No 149/2017, was lodged on his direction under sections 223, 224, 225, 225-A of the Pakistan Penal Code.



New Town SHO Hikamatullah told The Express Tribune that all the suspended officials and personnel were arrested overnight and were presented before a District East judicial magistrate on Thursday. The magistrate remanded them to prison and fixed the next hearing of the case on June 29.

CTD after escaped militants

The escaped militants, Mumtaz and Khan, are members of the Hafiz Qasim Rasheed and Sabir Munna groups of the LeJ. According to the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) investigators, these groups are considered the most dangerous wings of the proscribed sectarian outfit, which has been involved in terrorist activities across the country targeting the military, law enforcement agencies and religious minorities.

The timing of the jailbreak coincides with the Youm-e-Ali procession scheduled for Saturday. It is feared that their escape might be linked to a terrorist plot. However, according to the investigators, it will be premature to say anything about it. The two militants are residents of the same city and their families are residing here as well.

Mumtaz is a resident of Orangi and faces 32 cases pertaining to murder, attempted murder and possessing illicit weapons and explosives registered against him at various police stations across the city. Khan, on the other hand, has only five cases pending against him. He has already been sentenced to 14 years in prison in another case.



Senior CTD official Raja Omar Khattab said that his department has dispatched teams after the escaped suspects and raids are being conducted at their every potential hideout. “Besides the information from our intelligence wing, we are also closely looking into the meeting logs of the suspects. The information on who they met can lead us to get closer to them,” he explained.

CTD SSP Omar Shahid Hamid said inmates belonging to the same group are also being questioned. “An interrogation has been launched. Among the escaped convicts, Mumtaz appears to be more radicalised and hard core than the other. With our progress in the investigation, we are hopeful to nab them soon,” he said.

Reward

Sindh IG Allah Dino Khawaja has announced a Rs5 million cash reward for persons who will aid law enforcers nab the two suspected militants.

IG Khawaja made this announcement during a high-level meeting at the Central Police Office on Thursday, pledging that the name of the helping person would be kept in secret.

The meeting was attended by Karachi Additional IG Mushtaq Mehr, Special Branch AIG Dr Waliullah Dal and deputy IGs and Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs) from all districts of the city.

During the meeting the IG discussed the police’s security plan for the last 10 days of Ramazan and gave directions to his subordinates to ensure fool proof arrangements around markets, places of worship and other centres where people flock.



He ordered to change the snap-checking pattern and directed the police to carry out this exercise jointly with the Rangers.

He directed the SSPs to remain present in the field, especially after 9pm till the closure of shopping centres in the city and coordinate with traders’ associations for better security measures. He also ordered an organised crackdown against criminal gangs involved in streets crime.

Meanwhile, he emphasized that the police must ensure fool proof security for the Youm-e-Ali processions. The central procession will take place on June 17 on MA Jinnah Road till Bolton Market. On that day, the mentioned road will be closed for any kind of traffic. The police have also issued a traffic diversion plan.