It was between 2:00 and 2:30 in the afternoon when the prisoners and extraditees were locked in the barracks for counting at Rawalakot Jail in Poonch district in Pakistan-administered Kashmir as usual.
But the prison authorities were unaware that this day was going to be an unusual one.
Under the jail procedure
The same thing happened that day. According to the prison manual, food is also distributed during this time.
However, the prison authorities were unaware that some inmates were preparing to escape by making a dangerous plan and were waiting for that opportunity.
‘A prisoner asked a prison guard to take his lassi out. As soon as the guard approached, the keys to the barracks were seized, bringing him under control.’
A few prisoners not only unlocked the rest of their barracks.
Commissioner Poonch Division Sardar Waheed Khan was giving details of the prisoners’ escape from the Rawalakot Jail. According to the Rawalkot Police, at least 19 prisoners and convicts escaped the district jail.
In a statement, the police of Pakistan-administered Kashmir appealed to the public for help in finding the 18 escaped prisoners. They announced a reward of more than ten crore rupees for accurate information. Six of them, who have been sentenced to death, are fugitive prisoners. Authorities offered a reward of Rs 1 crore individually for information about them.
Who were these escaped prisoners? Before answering this question, let’s know more details about this project.
prison Break Plan and ‘Mysterious Pistol
Regarding this incident, Commissioner Poonch Division Sardar Waheed Khan, while providing some initial information, said that the incident took place between two and half past two on Sunday.
Sardar Waheed Khan stated that when the prisoners were locked in the barracks, Ghazi Shahzad was considered to be a hawala and the planner of the whole incident. Called a guard near under pretense, controlled him, and obtained the keys to the barracks.
But did the prisoners get any help from outside in this project?
Waheed Khan stated that, according to initial reports, someone threw a pistol from the roof during the incident. They used the same pistol to break the jail lock from the outside.
‘As a result of the firing
Rawalkot police station has registered two cases related to this jail escape incident. Authorities registered one case as a police complaint, while the brother of the deceased prisoner requested the registration of the other.
However, the Rawalkot police station has not disclosed the case details in its complaint.
The SHO of the police station said they could not reveal the details of this case. However, Abdul Shakoor, the brother of Khayyam, a prisoner who died in the incident, requested the registration of the second case. The district jail administration faces accusations in this case. The lawsuit asserts that a prison guard shot and killed the inmate as. He was running away, or someone was chasing him.
According to Rawalkot police station, family members have the right to register an FIR, and the police will decide on further action after investigation.
Alleged mastermind of Rawalakot jail escape plan.
According to Rawalkot Police DSP Sardar Tariq Mehmood, the investigation has revealed that Ghazi Shahzad was the mastermind of this plan.
According to the police, Ghazi Shahzad was facing various cases of terrorism and murder in jail, and he managed to escape.
However, the police claim that apart from Ghazi Shehzad’s three companions. The accused arrested in the case of the murder of Riaz alias Abu Qasim Kashmiri in a mosque in Rawalkot could not escape due to the timely action of the jail administration and the police.
Regarding the killing incident in the Rawalakot mosque, speculations suggest that the deceased, Abu Qasim Kashmiri, allegedly belonged to a jihadist organization. Muhammad Riaz, Abu Qasim Kashmiri, is from the Poonch district in Indian-administered Kashmir. The police stated that they targeted him for a targeted killing during Fajr Friday prayers in September last year.
After this, the head of the militant group Hizbul Mujahideen Syed Salahuddin condemned the killing of Muhammad Riaz in a statement.
According to Sardar Tariq Mehmood, the police arrested three associates of Ghazi Shahzad and the murder suspects from the Rawalakot mosque while they were on the run, and they are currently under investigation.
The escape attempt of the dangerous accused failed
People are also questioning how such a large number of prisoners managed to escape from the jail. And where was the police in such a situation?
According to Sardar Tariq Mehmood, “The police reached the spot within ten minutes after receiving the information about the incident.”
He says, ‘By the time the police team reached the prison, there were gunshots between. The escaped prisoners and the prison administration, but some of the prisoners had escaped.’
Sardar Tariq Mehmood claims that ‘the police immediately took control and foiled the escape attempt of more prisoners.’
He told them that at the time of the incident, there were 79 prisoners and detainees in prison. Nineteen had escaped, while the prison administration thwarted the escape attempt of the others.
In response to another question, Sardar Tariq said that according to the investigation and police reports so far. The weapons were provided to the escaped accused from inside the jail.
“How the weapon got inside and how the fabric of this incident connects, the investigation is going on.”
Who are the escaped prisoners?
Sardar Waheed Khan stated that the court sentenced the six escaped prisoners to death in murder cases. While three were serving 25 years in prison in terrorism cases.
Three prisoners were serving ten years in prison for crimes like robbery and kidnapping, while the cases of all others. Including Ghazi Shahzad, were pending in the courts.
Ghazi Shahzad was arrested by CTD last year along with three associates.
Immediately after the Rawalakot incident, authorities noted the following. The Azad Kashmir government suspended seven staff members. Including the superintendent of the Rawalakot District Jail.
These officials are currently in police custody for investigation. The government has also suspended the IG prisons and replaced them with bureaucrat Tahir Mumtaz.
