Islamabad: At least four prisoners were
killed and dozens more injured as Pakistani police opened fire
to rescue officials held hostage by protesting prisoners in a
jail in southern Sindh province on Tuesday, officials said.
Police opened firing and used teargas to rescue the
hostages in the central jail in Hyderabad city, said Peer
Zahoor, the official in-charge of the prison.
Six policemen were also injured, he said.
Around 40 prisoners were injured during the operation,
TV news channels reported.
Reports said that several injured prisoners were taken
to nearby hospitals.
The prisoners were protesting against the lack of
water and power in the jail, reports said.
Officials contended that the prisoners had converted
the jail into a den of narcotics.
They said the prisoners climbed to the roof of the
jail and refused to go back into the lockups.
Additional police forces were called in to quell the
protest, the officials said.
Six pistols, around 600 mobile phones and liquor were
found during the operation, they added.
Dozens of relatives of the prisoners gathered outside
the jail in Hyderabad, the second largest city in Sindh
province, and protested against the police action.
TV channels reported that the angry relatives threw
stones at police vans and blocked the main highway connecting
Hyderabad and Karachi, the capital of Sindh.
The Chief Justice of Sindh High Court took notice of
the violence in the prison and ordered an inquiry into the
casualties.
A district judge, Sadiq Bhatti, was appointed as the
investigation officer to determine the causes of the violence.
PTI
