KARACHI, Oct 16: At least 225 prisoners were shifted on Thursday from District Jail Malir to different prisons across the province in the aftermath of the Wednesday riots that had left four prisoners dead, three of them by the bullets of guards, and over a dozen others injured.

The police surgeon, Dr Hamid Padhiar, told Dawn that Abdur Razzaque, son of Wazeer, Amjad, son of Ata Mohammed, and Naimat Ali, son of Ali Mohammed, had received fatal bullet wounds, while Said Gulab, son of Saeed, was killed by a blunt and heavy object.“The victims received bullets wounds to the head and chest fired from guns from a long range,” he added.

While it was unclear why police opened fire on unarmed, albeit violent, prisoners, jail officials claimed that the prison guards were ordered to open fire to foil what could have been a jailbreak.

A jail police official said that Gulab was a beater at Barrack No 13 and he was tortured to death by the prisoners.

“An application for the registration of a case against prisoners, including Akram Maroof and Rehan, was sent to the area police for the prisoner’s murder,” he added.

A beater is a prisoner in charge of a barrack. He is believed to be close to the jail administration.

The victim’s younger brother, Shah Said, told Dawn at the Civil Hospital Karachi that his 30-year-old brother, a widower with two little daughters and a son, had been in jail for the past five years on the charges of attempting to kill policemen during a shootout.

“The entire body of my brother bore marks of severe torture,” he said and alleged that the prison guards were involved in the incident.

He said that he reached the Civil Hospital Karachi after he learnt about the killing of his brother through a TV channel.

“They did not show us the body till 2.30am and when I saw it I found the marks of strangulation and a deep cut on his forehead,” he said.

The victim’s brother said that he did not believe that his brother had been killed by the inmates.

“Why should the prisoners kill my brother? What harm did he cause to them?” he wondered.

The bodies of the three convicts who died from bullet wounds were kept at the Edhi morgue after a post-mortem examination as the victims’ family did not reach the hospital.

The provincial prisons’ chief, IG Yamin Khan, told Dawn that as many as 225 prisoners were shifted to the prisons in Badin, Sanghar and Nara as part of the measures being taken to avoid the recurrence of such incidents in the future.

He said that he had placed six officials of the Malir District Jail, including deputy superintendent Qamar Razzaq, under suspension for their failure to control the unruly prisoners.

“Four prisons guards were promoted to the rank of head constable in view of their gallantry to foil the jail break attempt,” he said.

The Shah Latif police registered a case (FIR 601/08) under Sections 302 (punishment for qatl-i-amd), 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapon), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) and 34 (abetment) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The second case was lodged (FIR 611) under Sections 435 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to cause damage to amount of one hundred), 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 32 (words referring to acts including illegal omissions), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 147 punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapon), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object) and 34 (abetment) of the PPC.

Both the FIRs were registered on the complaint of deputy superintendent of the Malir District Jail Qamar Raza against Akram Maroof, Rehan and other prisoners.

Meanwhile, sources said that a large number of jail inmates were severely tortured by the prison guards on Thursday.

They said that one of the prisoners, who was scheduled to be released on Wednesday, was thrown out of the prison in a critical condition.

The sources said that passers-by called an ambulance which shifted him to the Civil Hospital Karachi.

The victim, Kamran, told Dawn that he was arrested by the Jackson police for possessing a very small quantity of charas five and a half months ago.

“The police implicated me in an arms possession case also and charge-sheeted me in court,” he said.

He said that on Wednesday the judge exonerated him of the charge of possessing an illegal weapon and sentenced him to a four-month term and fined him Rs500.

“The judge ordered my immediate release while considering the period of my detention, but the jail staff did not let me out and asked Rs5,000 for my release,” he added.

He said he was among the large number of inmates who were beaten up mercilessly by the prison guards on Thursday.