CCD fears keep drug suspects behind bars

Rights advocates link bail reluctance to fears of alleged police violence

LAHORE:

For some drug suspects in Punjab, freedom comes with fear. Thousands of undertrials facing drug-peddling charges are reportedly reluctant to seek bail over fears of alleged violence by the Crime Control Department (CCD) after their release. Their reluctance is adding to prison overcrowding and raising questions about access to justice and the safety of suspects outside jail.

According to data available to The Express Tribune, Punjab’s 45 prisons housed 72,940 inmates, including around 53,000 undertrials. Of these, 15,390 faced drug-peddling charges, up from 13,000 in 2024 and 14,300 in 2025. More than 200 of the inmates were women.

Adiala Jail had the highest number of undertrials at 6,390, followed by Lahore’s Camp Jail with 6,033 and Central Jail Gujranwala with 4,870. Other overcrowded facilities included Central Jail Faisalabad (2,770), District Jail Sialkot (2,480), District Jail Sheikhupura (2,285), District Jail Faisalabad (2,070) and District Jail Kasur (1,970).

Drug-related cases accounted for over 23 per cent of undertrials. Around 17,000 were held for minor offences, while more than 2,200 awaited release in drug-use cases. Separately, 2,050 prisoners, including 140 women, had been convicted of drug peddling.

Former Punjab prisons chief Salahuddin Ahmed Khan Niazi said police and CCD personnel often wait outside jails with lists of inmates granted bail but wanted in other cases. Fearing immediate rearrest, he said, some suspects prefer to remain behind bars rather than seek release.

 “The fear of the CCD keeps them from leaving prison,” Niazi said, adding that the possibility of immediate rearrest had become a factor in some suspects’ decisions to remain behind bars.

Abdullah Malik, a legal expert and head of a human rights organisation, said allegations of police encounters involving the CCD had prompted widespread concern. He said some suspects accused of drug peddling were reluctant to seek bail because they feared being subjected to what is commonly described as a “quarter encounter” or “half encounter”, terms used to refer to alleged police violence resulting in serious injuries, including broken arms or legs.

Malik said incidents involving drug suspects who had secured bail and were subsequently allegedly subjected to such violence in different cities had reinforced these fears. "Therefore, some detainees view prison as a safer alternative to returning to the outside world," noted Malik.

Inspector General of Prisons Punjab Mian Salik Jalal said judicial officers visited prisons to release undertrial prisoners involved in minor offences on personal surety. Delays could occur when judicial officers were unable to visit, adding to the number of detainees awaiting release.

Under the rules, he said, judicial officers of at least the rank of Additional Sessions Judge were required to visit prisons twice a month. With prison populations continuing to rise, authorities had to prioritise the production of prisoners accused of serious offences before courts, he added.

Jalal said that once a court granted bail and the necessary release order was issued, the prison administration processed the detainee’s release. Responsibility for any subsequent arrest outside prison, he said, did not rest with the prison authorities. He expressed hope that the opening of the new Islamabad prison would help ease overcrowding in Punjab’s jails.

Punjab Home Department spokesperson Tauseef Gondal said the department was monitoring prison overcrowding and regularly updating inmate records, with particular attention to drug-related and serious offences.

A CCD spokesperson said police arrested suspects only in registered cases and could rearrest them if they faced other pending cases despite securing bail. The spokesperson also claimed CCD measures had reduced crime in Punjab by 50 per cent.

However, rights advocates warn that fears of alleged police violence, alongside delays in judicial proceedings, may be discouraging suspects from seeking bail and adding to prison overcrowding.