Rescue mission: 2 LeJ men escape from Civil hospital

Eidgah police arrest the policemen on guard at the jail ward.

KARACHI:

Two prisoners, Alauddin and Kashif, who are allegedly associated with the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), escaped from Civil hospital’s jail ward at around 7:30 pm on Sunday.

City Town SP Saqib Sultan told The Express Tribune that the suspects were being treated for the last one month under the court police’s custody.

The Eidgah police arrested the four policemen, Sub Inspector Abdul Hamid, Constable Fahim, Qazi Kamran and Ahmed Mohsin, who were guarding the prisoners at the hospital. The SP said two unidentified men came to the ward to help the prisoners escape. “The accomplices also unlocked the handcuffs of four other prisoners but fortunately none of them escaped.”

Alauddin was arrested by the Orangi Town police on June 3, 2010, while trying to escape after robbing a private bank. While the suspects tried to escape, one of Alauddin’s accomplices, Abdullah, was killed when a hand grenade exploded in his hand.

Five policemen, including former SHO Raja Tariq, were injured in the operation.

Tariq told The Express Tribune that the same group was involved in the Memon Goth bank robbery in 2010.

Kashif Bahadur was also arrested in 2010, by the Azizabad police and was allegedly affiliated with the LeJ.

SP Sultan said both men also have ties with Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and collect funds for militant groups in the tribal areas. “They are well-trained and have spent time fighting in the tribal areas,” he said.

The Eidgah police arrested the police guards and registered a case against them. Jail officials said that the prisoners were sent to Civil hospital from the District Malir Jail but that no prisoners with apparent links to outlawed groups are detained there.

This is not the first time such an incident has taken place. In June 2010, there was a brazen rescue mission by a group of a banned outfit that lobbed hand grenades and opened fire on police personnel at the Karachi City Court to successfully liberate four companions being escorted back by the police after a hearing. The men were from Jundullah. In the gun battle, a constable, Muhammad Shahbaz, lost his life.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 16^th, 2011.