Daring escapade: Police escort under fire, prisoner escapes with accomplices
The police escort was attacked in a high-security zone.
GILGIT:
Armed men freed a prisoner on death row from police custody and escaped from a high-security zone, after injuring two policemen on Tuesday afternoon, according to eyewitness accounts.
The brazen attack on police intensified panic and fear in the city that has witnessed rising incidents of violence, mostly along sectarian lines, especially in the aftermath of the Kohistan bus carnage that had left 16 passengers dead while they were travelling from Rawalpindi to Gilgit via Karakoram Highway.
The armed men, about six in number, opened fire at the police officials escorting the prisoner to District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) for treatment, said the police.
The attackers escaped after taking along the prisoner identified as Imran Hussain who was given the death penalty for killing a man in Napur some years ago.
Eyewitnesses said the incident took place barely a few metres away from pickets manned by Punjab Rangers and Gilgit Scouts, close to DHQ Hospital.
The injured policemen, Syed Nasir and Fazal Elahi, were shifted to DHQ Hospital for treatment,” said another police official. A case had been registered against the perpetrators.
Police cordoned off the area immediately after the incident and launched a search operation to trace the men. However, no one had been arrested till the time the story was filed.
Sources said that the police had brought Hussain to DHQ for a medical checkup after he complained he was unwell.
Shortly after the incident, doctors staged a protest outside the chief secretary’s office, demanding foolproof security for doctors and patients at DHQ Hospital.
They regretted that the incident occurred in the high-security zone which is manned by security forces round the clock.
The doctors dispersed after the authorities assured them of providing security in and around the hospital.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 28th, 2012.
Armed men freed a prisoner on death row from police custody and escaped from a high-security zone, after injuring two policemen on Tuesday afternoon, according to eyewitness accounts.
The brazen attack on police intensified panic and fear in the city that has witnessed rising incidents of violence, mostly along sectarian lines, especially in the aftermath of the Kohistan bus carnage that had left 16 passengers dead while they were travelling from Rawalpindi to Gilgit via Karakoram Highway.
The armed men, about six in number, opened fire at the police officials escorting the prisoner to District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) for treatment, said the police.
The attackers escaped after taking along the prisoner identified as Imran Hussain who was given the death penalty for killing a man in Napur some years ago.
Eyewitnesses said the incident took place barely a few metres away from pickets manned by Punjab Rangers and Gilgit Scouts, close to DHQ Hospital.
The injured policemen, Syed Nasir and Fazal Elahi, were shifted to DHQ Hospital for treatment,” said another police official. A case had been registered against the perpetrators.
Police cordoned off the area immediately after the incident and launched a search operation to trace the men. However, no one had been arrested till the time the story was filed.
Sources said that the police had brought Hussain to DHQ for a medical checkup after he complained he was unwell.
Shortly after the incident, doctors staged a protest outside the chief secretary’s office, demanding foolproof security for doctors and patients at DHQ Hospital.
They regretted that the incident occurred in the high-security zone which is manned by security forces round the clock.
The doctors dispersed after the authorities assured them of providing security in and around the hospital.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 28th, 2012.