Two policemen were taken hostage by prisoners while eight others were injured as they fell prey to their own tear gas while battling the inmates of the Larkana jail during an operation on Sunday.
Police from two districts - Larkana and Qambar-Shahdadkot - worked together to tackle inmates who had been resisting orders to transfer to other jails for over a month.
The police entered with an armoured vehicle and fired over 50 tear gas shells upon the inmates but unfortunately the direction of the wind was such that it blew back at them, allowing the inmates to attack them with bricks and sticks.
SHO Ghaffar Shah, who was injured, told PPI that the prisoners had to be shifted to other jails because they needed to repair the Larkana jail. “The prisoners were told that it would be temporary for three months, but a group of 40 to 60 prisoners, led by a notorious dacoit Bashoo Shabrani Chandio and three others, resisted the move,” he said.
The agitating prisoners, who were contacted by PPI through a source inside the jail over the phone, confirmed two hostages - Allah Wasayo Saryo and Nazeer Sangi - who were taken to the rooftop of the barrack and were beaten up.
Around 1,500 police personnel and Rangers had to retreat. Talks were held between the jail officials and the prisoners in the presence of Pakistan Peoples Party leader Ameen Mengal but sources said that the talks were unsuccessful. They are likely to get back to negotiation again on Monday at 11 am.
SHO Ghaffar Shah said that there were 350 prisoners in the jail. Another official said that on Monday, 102 of them surrendered voluntarily.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 18th, 2011.
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