At least 12 under-trial prisoners escaped police custody after a clash broke out between two groups while they were being presented before a local court in Lahore on Monday.

Police said they had managed to re-arrest two of the fleeing prisoners, and efforts were being made to apprehend the others.

The incident took place when 166 prisoners from two jails arrested in various cases were brought to the district courts in Lahore's Model Town for hearings, Lahore SSP (Operations) Mustansar Feroze told the media.

He said the suspects were being kept in the “bakhshi khana” — the lock-up for under-trial prisoners — of the court when a fight started between two groups.

"When the police officers brought the prisoners out of the [lock-up] to control the situation, they became unruly and also clashed with policemen ,threw stones at them and attacked them with chairs, tables and other objects," Feroze said.

TV footage showed prisoners throwing bricks and furniture from inside the lock-up and some of them climbing over the chairs to flee as police personnel watched helplessly. At least one policeman was struck in the face with a stone.

SSP Feroze said two out of the 12 prisoners who fled had been arrested, while a search operation was underway to nab the others.

He added that an "internal inquiry" was also being carried out so that disciplinary action could be taken against the police officials who might have shown "negligence". Legal proceedings will also be started against the prisoners who planned the escape, he said.

According to the officer, the prisoners who fled were not facing serious cases such as that of murder or abduction, and most of them were being tried for robbery, snatching and illegal arms crimes.

"We hope to arrest the maximum number of these prisoners today," SSP Feroze said.

Responding to a question, he acknowledged that the police officers on duty should have responded to the situation appropriately, saying steps would be taken to prevent such incidents in the future.