‘Illegal’ detention: Govt denies report on ‘wrongful’ confinement of 41 prisoners

Report insists the inmates in Karachi jail same as those arrested by police.

KARACHI:

The Sindh Government has denied reports of the wrongful confinement of 41 prisoners in the Karachi Central Jail.

A preliminary report, issued by the special secretary for prisons, Dr Muhammad Nawaz Shaikh, on Saturday, stated that the prisoners currently confined in the Karachi Central Jail were the same as those arrested by the police and remanded by the various courts.

According to his statement, the special secretary said that the police records for all the accused were available with the police stations. The records, comprising photographs and the police CRO record, were checked and verified with the jail records and it was confirmed that the prisoners were the same as those arrested by the police.

The report further established that the names and identification of the criminals were kept hidden by the police authorities at the time of arrests due to security reasons. This practice was continued during the judicial process. Shaikh said that the preliminary findings suggested that discrepancies and irregularities with regard to the original names could not be blamed on the jail administration.

Meanwhile, an inquiry committee has been formed on the orders of the chief minister to probe the allegations. The committee, comprising DIG AD Khawaja, anti-corruption enquiries and establishment director, Ghulam Hussain Memon and additional advocate general Miran Muhammad Shah, will submit its report within 15 days.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 8^th, 2013.