Hyderabad jailbreak: Slain inmate’s released friend holds jail responsible for riots

Jamali was released on bail a day after the encounter between prisoners and jail staff.

HYDERABAD:

A recently released inmate of Hyderabad Central Jail has accused the jail staff of letting prisoner Sajid Khaskheli, who died in riots on July 13, succumb to his bullet wounds. 

The man who has spoken up, Manzoor Ali Jamali, was released on bail on July 14, just a day after the riots broke out at the jail. He recorded his statement before a judicial inquiry on Saturday. He gave details of the death of Sajid Khaskheli who was imprisoned for murder.

“Sajid was standing near the jail hospital when he was shot,” said Jamali. “We saw him writhing in pain as we urged the guards to take him to hospital.” He was hit by two bullets in his chest on July 13. The doctors pronounced him dead when he was taken to the hospital three hours later.

Jamali held the jail staff responsible for the riots. He claimed that the inmates were being forced to do manual labour. “We were standing outside barrack No. 10 when the fight suddenly broke out.”

Jamali said that he was a Khaskheli’s friend. “Sajid used to say that he feared for his life in jail because of his enmity with the Thebo clan.” This account matches the accusations made by Khaskheli’s family who said that he was killed for revenge.

The slain inmate’s brother, Sabir Ali, had told reporters that the family would file a case against jail administration because they believed that the riots had been staged to kill Sajid, who was nominated in the FIR registered for the killing of Sardar Abdul Wahid Thebo.

Meanwhile, a court also recorded the statements of Jails DIG Gulzar Channa, Superintendent Qazi Nazeer Ahmed, deputy superintendent Gul Muhammad Shaikh and other officers. DIG Channa alleged that the prisoners tried to flee and the guards only fired in the air to scare them away from the prison walls.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 23^rd, 2012.