[Dawn] The fragility of the security arrangements on district courts complex was self-evident yet again on Saturday when two groups of under-trial prisoners attacked each other with razors and knives outside the courtroom of judicial magistrate Kaleem Aslam Awan and then assaulted the judge who along with his staffers took refuge in a toilet to save them from attackers. The Lahore Bar Association (LBA) expressed serious concerns over the incident and announced observing strike from Monday until foolproof security was provided at all city courts.The Saturday drama started when members of one group of under-trial prisoners reportedly made fun of women belonging to the second group. The families, including women, had come to see their kin ahead of their hearing.
Muhammad Azam, Waqas Haider, Amir Riaz and others, who were involved in murder cases, and Muhammad Naeem, Javed Mehmood and Rehman Akram, who were involved in dacoity cases, attacked each other with razors and knives they had brought along with them from the jail.
Sporting a fear of attack by their rivals or a backlash from complainants, it is believed that under-trial prisoners usually smuggle such weapons into the jail and then bring them along with them whenever they come to attend court proceedings.
| Demonstrably a wise precaution. |
The shocked magistrate and his staffers rushed to the toilet of the courtroom and locked themselves inside to save their lives at the hands of under-trial prisoners brandishing sharp-edged weapons.
However,
some people cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go...
except for minor cuts and bruises, none of the prisoners received critical injuries during the episode. A wave of panic spread through the litigants and visitors. Witnesses said the under-trial prisoners also assaulted the magistrate and his staffers and tried to break open the toilet door, but failed.
City Division operations SP Dr Shahzad Asif Khan, however, said the presiding officer and court staffers were not assaulted by the myrmidons. All the officials remained unhurt, he maintained.
As the fight was in progress, police personnel rushed to the scene and hounded all of the under-trial prisoners out of the courtroom to the Bakhshi Khana wherefrom they were immediately transported back to their jails.
The Lower Mall police started the paperwork but haven't done much else on the complaint of magistrate's reader against five suspects from both the groups.
The area SP said that though the incident occurred due to a security lapse, the prisoners had brought the weapons along with them from jails. He said that under-trial prisoners were brought to courts in prison department's vehicles and it was the duty of the jail authorities to thoroughly frisk the inmates before sending them to courts.
However,
you can observe a lot just by watching...
he said, two officials, sub-inspector Muhammad Saleem, who is in charge of Bakhshi Khana, and the police guard in charge, had been suspended from service for their negligence.
The operations DIG also suspended from service constables Zaheeruddin, Zahoor Ahmad, Muhammad Akram and Zahid, who had escorted the accused parties from jails. Subsequently, a team was formed under the supervision of headquarters SP to investigate the incident.