Three judges killed in Sialkot jail shootout
From Our Correspondent
SIALKOT—Three judges and five hostage-takers were killed in a bloody shootout in Sialkot District Jail on Friday.
The incident took place when a judges team headed by District and Sessions Judge Sialkot Ch Zafar Hussain visited the jail for inspection. When the Judges were returning after conducting the visit, some prisoners involved in henious crimes held them hostage at gunpoint. District and Sessions Judge Ch Zafar Hussain and three Civil Judges, however, managed to escape while the remaining nine judges and 22 women inmates were made hostage by the accused.
The kidnappers locked them in the women’s barracks.
When Head Warden Khalid Arshad and Senior Warden Muhammad Riaz Khokhar tried to free the judges, the outlaws opened fire resulting in injuries to both the jailers.
DIG Gujranwala Range Malik Muhammad Iqbal dashed to the jail, as soon as he learnt about the ugly incident.
The armed commandos of Gujranwala range police equipped with sophisticated weapons cordoned off the entire jail and took over positions atop jail barracks to get free the judicial officers .
These criminals wanted to use the hostages as a shield to escape from the prison and had demanded vehicle, ammunition and safe passage.
Authorities, however, did not bow to their demands and decided to launch a rescue operation that unfortunately resulted in death of three judges who were killed as a result of firing by the criminals. Police said up to three judges were wounded in the gunbattle but all the survivors were freed.
At least one policeman was also injured in cross-firing between the law enforcing agency and the prisoners, who were sentenced for committing the crime of kidnapping-for-ransom.
Acting IG Prisons, Punjab Capt (Retd) Sarfaraz Ahmad Mufti told APP that jail authorities tried their best to persuade the prisoners to release the judicial officers from their custody unconditionally.
However, the criminals, undergoing various jail terms and facing trial in serious crimes, turned down the repeated requests and pressed for their demands.
As talks failed, an exchange of fire took place between the kidnappers and police, resulting in the death of three judges (Additional District and Sessions Judge, Sagheer Anwar, Civil Judges Asif Nawaz and Shahid Ranjha) and the five captors.
Some other judges and jail wardens also sustained injuries and were admitted to district headquarters hospital for first aid. They are stated to be out of danger.
The police operation started against kidnappers at 5:32 pm and ended at 6:30 pm. During the operation the Police used weapon for firing and kidnappers also used pistols of 32 bores and a Kalashinkov. During cross firing a Civil Judge and Magistrate Shahar Yar Bukhari was seriously injured and admitted in hospital. Judicial Magistrate Sibtain Kazmi and Pervaiz Iqbal Butt and prisoner woman Salama Bibi and a child were also injured and admitted in Govt Allama Iqbal Hospital Sialkot. The kidnappers are Shahbaz Ahmed, Ijaz Ahmed, Munir Ahmed, Muhammad Rafique and Ashafaq Ahmed. A constable of Elite Force and a constable of Jail Khalid Arshad,a Naib Court Ikram and a Civil Judge Muhammad Naeem Sheikh were also injured during the operation and admitted in said hospital.
High Jail Department authorities said that Acting IG, Prisons held talks with hostage keepers for one and a half hours but they wanted their immediate release and stuck to it. The jail authorities had no jurisdiction to agree with their demands and the talks reached a dead end. To further press for their release, the convicts started killing Civil Judges.
Acting IG Mufti personally assured prisoners that no action would be taken against them if they set judges free from their custody unconditionally.
DIG Gujranwala Range Malik Muhammad Iqbal, who was supervising the commando operation, disclosed that situation became out of control when convicts bluntly refused to budge an inch from their demand.
Police sources said it was left with no option except to resort to baton charge and opened fire in order to save the lives of other judicial officers. The prisoners were killed in an exchange of fire.
Mufti said that he has ordered a high-level departmental enquiry into the incident and strict action against the Superintendent Jail Ch Muhammad Sikandar, Deputy Superintendent Jail Iftikhar Bhatti and Assistant Superintendent in-charge, barracks for gross criminal negligence.
Deputy Inspector of General Police Gujranwala Range Malik Muhammad Iqbal Awan, while addressing a Press conference here on Friday after the operation in jail, said that the operation against the kidnappers of District Jail Sialkot was our compulsion because we cannot permit lawlessness in the country.
The DIG said that we called the relatives of kidnappers for bargaining but the kidnappers also refused their proposal to release the kidnapped persons. He said that the kidnappers used illegal weapons 32-bore pistols and a Kalashnikov while these weapons were provided to them with the consent of Jail administration. He said that Jail Superintendent Sikandar Hayyat was on leave and this incident happened during his leave and it is also learnt that the said Superintendent was designated in said Jail in 1989 and a prisoner was shot dead but he was also on leave during that incident.
A pre-planned move
By Our Staff Reporter
LAHORE—It was a pre-planned move on the part of hostage takers, the officials of Punjab government believe.
According to sources one of the hostage taker asked the Jail Warden whether the Judge was visiting the jail or not.
The officials say this showed that some inmates were planning to take the judge hostage for their own safe passage out of hail.
Chronology
By Nadeem Syed
LAHORE—Departing from the routine practice, the District and Sessions Judge led into Sialkot jail a large delegation of 14 officials which included three Additional Sessions Judges, seven civil judges and three Judicial Magistrates.
As the delegation was passing by a factory in the jail, manned by inmates, someone fired a shot at the Sessions Judge.
His guard got wounded.
This created a stampede in the jail
Some inmates ran after the Judge and tried to get hold of him. However, the jail staff came to the rescue of the Judge.
Stampede continued with fire being shot in the air with officials and inmates running here and there and into barracks.
The Judge managed to take refuge in the office of the Superintendant Jail.
The three judges, got killed towards the end of the gory drama, also ran and took refuge in a barrack where already the five hostage-takers were present.
They closed the doors of barrack and all the entry points.
Meanwhile, district police arrived at the scene
The police provided walkie talkie to the hostage takers to start negotiation with them.
The Hostage takers demanded, safe passage, five kalashnikovs and a bus, saying the judges will be released afterwards
After lengthy negotiations and having failed in achieving any breakthrough, the police decided to take action against the hostage-takers to free the judges.
The Elite police headed the operation, leaving behind all the five hostage takers dead and also the three civil judges.
Three judges killed in Sialkot jail shootout
From Our Correspondent
SIALKOT—Three judges and five hostage-takers were killed in a bloody shootout in Sialkot District Jail on Friday.
The incident took place when a judges team headed by District and Sessions Judge Sialkot Ch Zafar Hussain visited the jail for inspection. When the Judges were returning after conducting the visit, some prisoners involved in henious crimes held them hostage at gunpoint. District and Sessions Judge Ch Zafar Hussain and three Civil Judges, however, managed to escape while the remaining nine judges and 22 women inmates were made hostage by the accused.
The kidnappers locked them in the women’s barracks.
When Head Warden Khalid Arshad and Senior Warden Muhammad Riaz Khokhar tried to free the judges, the outlaws opened fire resulting in injuries to both the jailers.
DIG Gujranwala Range Malik Muhammad Iqbal dashed to the jail, as soon as he learnt about the ugly incident.
The armed commandos of Gujranwala range police equipped with sophisticated weapons cordoned off the entire jail and took over positions atop jail barracks to get free the judicial officers .
These criminals wanted to use the hostages as a shield to escape from the prison and had demanded vehicle, ammunition and safe passage.
Authorities, however, did not bow to their demands and decided to launch a rescue operation that unfortunately resulted in death of three judges who were killed as a result of firing by the criminals. Police said up to three judges were wounded in the gunbattle but all the survivors were freed.
At least one policeman was also injured in cross-firing between the law enforcing agency and the prisoners, who were sentenced for committing the crime of kidnapping-for-ransom.
Acting IG Prisons, Punjab Capt (Retd) Sarfaraz Ahmad Mufti told APP that jail authorities tried their best to persuade the prisoners to release the judicial officers from their custody unconditionally.
However, the criminals, undergoing various jail terms and facing trial in serious crimes, turned down the repeated requests and pressed for their demands.
As talks failed, an exchange of fire took place between the kidnappers and police, resulting in the death of three judges (Additional District and Sessions Judge, Sagheer Anwar, Civil Judges Asif Nawaz and Shahid Ranjha) and the five captors.
Some other judges and jail wardens also sustained injuries and were admitted to district headquarters hospital for first aid. They are stated to be out of danger.
The police operation started against kidnappers at 5:32 pm and ended at 6:30 pm. During the operation the Police used weapon for firing and kidnappers also used pistols of 32 bores and a Kalashinkov. During cross firing a Civil Judge and Magistrate Shahar Yar Bukhari was seriously injured and admitted in hospital. Judicial Magistrate Sibtain Kazmi and Pervaiz Iqbal Butt and prisoner woman Salama Bibi and a child were also injured and admitted in Govt Allama Iqbal Hospital Sialkot. The kidnappers are Shahbaz Ahmed, Ijaz Ahmed, Munir Ahmed, Muhammad Rafique and Ashafaq Ahmed. A constable of Elite Force and a constable of Jail Khalid Arshad,a Naib Court Ikram and a Civil Judge Muhammad Naeem Sheikh were also injured during the operation and admitted in said hospital.
High Jail Department authorities said that Acting IG, Prisons held talks with hostage keepers for one and a half hours but they wanted their immediate release and stuck to it. The jail authorities had no jurisdiction to agree with their demands and the talks reached a dead end. To further press for their release, the convicts started killing Civil Judges.
Acting IG Mufti personally assured prisoners that no action would be taken against them if they set judges free from their custody unconditionally.
DIG Gujranwala Range Malik Muhammad Iqbal, who was supervising the commando operation, disclosed that situation became out of control when convicts bluntly refused to budge an inch from their demand.
Police sources said it was left with no option except to resort to baton charge and opened fire in order to save the lives of other judicial officers. The prisoners were killed in an exchange of fire.
Mufti said that he has ordered a high-level departmental enquiry into the incident and strict action against the Superintendent Jail Ch Muhammad Sikandar, Deputy Superintendent Jail Iftikhar Bhatti and Assistant Superintendent in-charge, barracks for gross criminal negligence.
Deputy Inspector of General Police Gujranwala Range Malik Muhammad Iqbal Awan, while addressing a Press conference here on Friday after the operation in jail, said that the operation against the kidnappers of District Jail Sialkot was our compulsion because we cannot permit lawlessness in the country.
The DIG said that we called the relatives of kidnappers for bargaining but the kidnappers also refused their proposal to release the kidnapped persons. He said that the kidnappers used illegal weapons 32-bore pistols and a Kalashnikov while these weapons were provided to them with the consent of Jail administration. He said that Jail Superintendent Sikandar Hayyat was on leave and this incident happened during his leave and it is also learnt that the said Superintendent was designated in said Jail in 1989 and a prisoner was shot dead but he was also on leave during that incident.
A pre-planned move
By Our Staff Reporter
LAHORE—It was a pre-planned move on the part of hostage takers, the officials of Punjab government believe.
According to sources one of the hostage taker asked the Jail Warden whether the Judge was visiting the jail or not.
The officials say this showed that some inmates were planning to take the judge hostage for their own safe passage out of hail.
Chronology
By Nadeem Syed
LAHORE—Departing from the routine practice, the District and Sessions Judge led into Sialkot jail a large delegation of 14 officials which included three Additional Sessions Judges, seven civil judges and three Judicial Magistrates.
As the delegation was passing by a factory in the jail, manned by inmates, someone fired a shot at the Sessions Judge.
His guard got wounded.
This created a stampede in the jail
Some inmates ran after the Judge and tried to get hold of him. However, the jail staff came to the rescue of the Judge.
Stampede continued with fire being shot in the air with officials and inmates running here and there and into barracks.
The Judge managed to take refuge in the office of the Superintendant Jail.
The three judges, got killed towards the end of the gory drama, also ran and took refuge in a barrack where already the five hostage-takers were present.
They closed the doors of barrack and all the entry points.
Meanwhile, district police arrived at the scene
The police provided walkie talkie to the hostage takers to start negotiation with them.
The Hostage takers demanded, safe passage, five kalashnikovs and a bus, saying the judges will be released afterwards
After lengthy negotiations and having failed in achieving any breakthrough, the police decided to take action against the hostage-takers to free the judges.
The Elite police headed the operation, leaving behind all the five hostage takers dead and also the three civil judges.
Three judges killed in Sialkot jail shootout
Comment