Karachi jail break: Arrested prison staffers to appear before ATC

KARACHI: The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) has detained 12 people on suspicion of their involvement and negligence in the escape of two hardened terrorists of proscribed militant outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) from the city’s central jail.

The arrested suspects include the central jail’s superintendent and other jail staffers who will be presented before the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) for remand, sources said.

According to the CTD, the jail authorities had failed to form a strong case against the responsible police officers and personnel. It also alleged that the police personnel have shown a criminal negligence and remained inattentive during the investigation which led the terror suspects to flee from the captivity.

It is worth mentioning here that under-trial prisoners, Shaikh Muhammad Mumtaz alias Firoon and Muhammad Ahmed Khan alias Muna had escaped from the judicial complex of Central Prison Karachi on Tuesday.

Startling revelations about the incident indicate that the prisoners had escaped on Tuesday by breaking prison grill and changed their appearance in the judge’s bathroom. However, the jail staff came to know about their escape on Wednesday when they were supposed to be presented before the court inside the jail, police sources said.

The duo were arrested by the CTD in 2013 for their involvement in dozens of targeted killings.