10 more inmates back in Malir Jail after mass escape

KARACHI: At least 10 more inmates, who fled during a jailbreak caused by an earthquake in the port city, returned to the Landhi Jail in Malir district during the three-day Eid ul Adha holiday, officials confirmed on Tuesday.

In total, 213 inmates escaped from Karachi’s District Malir Jail during an evacuation due to the earthquake. When the tremors hit, prison staff moved the inmates into the open courtyard for their safety. However, the situation quickly spiraled out of control, enabling a significant number of inmates to flee.

According to Jail Superintendent Shahab Siddiqui, some prisoners were arrested, while some returned voluntarily.

The inmates' return brings the total number of recaptured escapees to 149, while 66 are still on the run, the official revealed.

Last week, prisoners from the two circles of Malir Jail, who were brought out due to the continuous tremors, attacked security personnel. Frontier Corps personnel initially tried to stop the inmates with batons before resorting to aerial firing, but were overpowered, leading to the prisoners' escape.

At least three FC personnel and one jail staffer were injured during the chaos, and one prisoner was killed. In the aftermath, the facility's IT room’s servers and equipment were damaged, and its doors were damaged.

A joint operation involving police, Rangers, Frontier Corps, the Special Security Unit (SSU), and the Rapid Response Force (RRF) was launched to track the escapees, and nearly 100 inmates were immediately rearrested.

Taking notice of the matter, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah had removed the prisons inspector general (IG), prisons deputy IG and the then jail superintendent from their posts for the negligence that resulted in the "biggest" jailbreaks in years.

He had also directed Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah to conduct a thorough investigation of the jailbreak incident by engaging Commissioner Karachi Hassan Naqvi and Karachi Police Chief Javed Alam Odho.