Repeating history: Jail warden injured in clash between inmates, officials

The fight was triggered when staff tried to lock two prisoners in a separate barrack.

GILGIT: A jail warden was injured in a clash between inmates and police officials in Gilgit Jail, located in the residential area of Kashrot on Saturday.

A police official, requesting anonymity, confirmed the incident. The fight broke out when officials tried to lock two key prisoners in a separate barrack in the prison. Other inmates started protesting. Enraged prisoners set a barrack on fire, forcing the police to resort to tear gas and aerial firing, said the official.



Warden Akbar Ali sustained minor injuries as a result of the riot.

Heavy contingents of police and other security personnel reached the site and cordoned the area off to quell the protest. “It’s all over now, the situation is under control,” said the official.

Hearing firing, panic spread among residents who feared it might be a sectarian clash.

In a similar incident last year, inmates torched a portion of the same institute, forcing the government to reconstruct it. Jail security has increased over the years following jailbreak incidents in the region.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 25^th, 2013.