Additional force called after protest in Kohat jail

POSTED IN DAWN



KOHAT, July 6: The Kohat prison authorities called in additional force to control the situation when ‘Taliban’ inmates resorted to protest against the arrest of their colleague from the jail mosque on Monday.

The inmates, who had been arrested by police suspecting them to be Taliban, staged protest for more than two hours and broke taps and pipes.

Official sources said the suspected Taliban, arrested during operations in tribal and settled areas and imprisoned in the Kohat district prison, slapped and kicked a drug seller, injuring him. The victim complained to the staff after which police took action and arrested a Taliban inmate inside the mosque.

This infuriated the Taliban who gathered in large numbers holding sticks and accusing police of desecrating the mosque by arresting a man inside the mosque. The protesters demanded that the jail authorities should stop “selling of hashish, sleeping pills and use of mobile phones by some influential prisoners in connivance with wardens”.

District Police Officer Dilawar Khan Bangash and Assistant Coordination Officer Shabbir Mohammad reached the prison along with a huge contingent of police to control the situation.

The matter was settled between the Taliban and the jail administration following detailed search of the belongings and barracks of the prisoners allegedly involved in the illegal business. Nothing was recovered from them.

Later, the administration decided to send four ‘notorious’ Taliban who had created all the mess to the Deral Ismail Khan central jail.

An inquiry has been ordered into the incident to review the behaviour of the jail staff with prisoners.