Scathing report on UTPs' escape hints at inside job

KARACHI: A report on the escape of suspected under trial militants from the City Courts in Karachi last week has put forward some glaring evidence that points towards compliance on the part of one of the UTPs’ escorts - who was already under investigation for allowing a UTP to escape earlier.

Imran Nazir, the policeman who was tasked with handling the alleged militants of Jundullah, Mohammad Shakaib Farooqi, Wazir Mohammad, Murad Shah and Murtaza, also known as Shakil, during their court hearing on June 19, may face prosecution after the accused men managed to escape from the City Courts on Saturday, a member of the investigative committee, formed to probe into circumstances of the escape, informed The Express Tribune on Thursday.

The investigation report - pointing out that the incident occurred at 3:10 pm while the UTPs had already had their hearing by 1 pm - questioned why the UTPs were made to wait in the compound for over two hours, calling it ‘inexplicable’. It also said that Nazir, who claimed that he had fired shots with his own gun, had failed to explain why he had done so and whether his gun had been snatched by the criminals in the incident or not. Nazir, it said, had taken refuge in a bathroom to save his own life instead of securing the UTPs, and later failed to provide details of what took place that day.

The report also put forward the fact that Nazir had accompanied the same UTPs to five out of seven hearings for various cases within the month of June and questioned why Nazir, who is yet to be cleared of charges of allowing a UTP to escape earlier, was assigned the duty of handling UTPs yet again.

The police had also found a mobile phone from Murad Shah’s pockets after he was shot dead by head constable Mohammad Mansha during an encounter outside the court - which provided evidence that the escape of the UTPs was made possible with help from security officials, it was further stated.

The report also provided procedural details. According to the standard Court Police practice - which calls for one policeman to hold the handcuffs of the accused while the other keeps guard of the Under Trial Prisoners (UTP) - four accused men were handed over to Nazir and Shahbaz, officials of the Court Police, at around 10:30 am on Saturday after the jail authorities were asked to provide the accused men with guards, it was stated in the investigation report.

While Shahbaz was armed with an SMG issued by the government, Nazir was carrying his own TT pistol while accompanying the UTPs from the Central jail to the lock-up in the City Courts where the UTPs were to wait before they were presented before the court, the report went on to say.

The UTPs were asked to appear before the court at 12pm. After the court proceedings ended at 1 pm, they were accompanied by Nazir and Shahbaz to wait in the court’s compound before they were to be taken to the lock-up and then returned to the Central Jail.

The UTPs were made to wait in the compound for over two hours, and a hand grenade exploded outside the city court at 3:10, after which the criminals approached the UTPs, shot dead Shahzad, and succeeded in escaping with the UTPs, it was further stated. Meanwhile, the role of security officials, deployed at the three exits of the court’s premises, was also questioned in the report.

The gate near Bilal Mosque, which opens on the Tahir Saifuddin Road, was identified as the prisoners’ escape route. The report questioned the activities of the police official who was deployed there.

Farooq, the police official who was standing at the gate near Bilal Mosque, claimed that he had left his post to check what had happened inside the court when the first hand grenade had exploded, allowing the prisoners to escape. Farooq’s statement could not be supported by any accounts by eyewitnesses, it was stated in the report, which held him accountable for negligence.

Alam, another official who was deployed at the gate near the lock-up in the court, was on leave for the day, while the authorities had failed to send a replacement for his post, it was also revealed in the report.

“The report has questioned the dedication of some officials to their work,” a CID official stated. “We have investigated things realistically and the police have accepted their responsibility in the incident. It will help avoid such incidents in the future,” he went on to say.

If the Court Police had been vigilant in its duties, the recurrent incidents of escape by UTPs could have been avoided, it was stated in the report.

The police also needs to be provided with trained staff to prevent such situations in the future, it was added.

The report concluded by lauding the efforts of ASI Sher Mohammad, HC Mohammad Mansha and PC Tariq Anjum who did their best in the attempt to prevent the escape of the UTPs.

The report was prepared by DIG South Iqbal Mehmood, DIG East Abdul Khalique Sheikh and IG Prison Ghulam Qadir with the help of a special investigative unit and input from CID officials. “People who did not perform their duties will have to face the law,” said an official from the  CID who was also asked to contribute in the preparation of a report on the incident that was completed on Thursday, June 24.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 25^th, 2010.