Security ‘lapse’: Inmate escapes from juvenile jail

The escaped under-trial prisoner was being tried for murder.

KARACHI: The city’s prisons seem to be in the spotlight a lot lately - albeit, for all the wrong reasons. In yet another embarrassing episode, the apparent carelessness of prison officials led to the escape of a juvenile prisoner from the juvenile jail in Karachi, on Sunday.

The under-trial prisoner, Jameel Hussain, accused of murder, had been housed in barrack 10 of the Youthful Offenders Industrial School, also known as the juvenile jail, situated next to the Karachi Central Jail.

The authorities reported the inmate as missing on Sunday afternoon.

Jail officials were tight-lipped regarding the details of how this inmate managed to be escape so easily from the heavily-guarded premises despite the presence of dozens of armed personnel. A prison official, on condition of anonymity, told The Express Tribune that since the incident took place on Sunday, which is a off day for the high ups, police officers on duty must have been ‘relaxed’ and not very vigilant.

Sindh minister for prisons Manzoor Wassan, on the other hand, taking notice of the incident has suspended four officials of the juvenile jail, who includes its superintendent, Murtaza Shaikh, and his assistant, Naveed Ahmed.

Meanwhile, the special home secretary, Javed Iqbal has been asked to look into the matter and has been directed to submit a report of the incident within three days time, the jail authorities said.  An FIR for negligence and carelessness against the three jail officials, who includes Naveed Ahmed and his two junior officers, has also been registered at the New Town Police Station.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 30^th, 2013.