ATTOCK, Dec 7: Overcrowding and lack of basic facilities at District Jail Attock is exposing the inmates to serious diseases and infections, jail sources told Dawn. At present, over 900 prisoners are being kept at the century- year old jail having capacity for 428 inmates only. Each cell is accommodating double the number of inmates exposing them to different diseases of lung, skin and eye.

The visitors are charged Rs10 each as official fee that goes towards the Prisoners Aid Society but this money is not spent on provision of health and other facilities to the prisoners. The jail hospital is ill-equipped running short of life-saving drugs and other medical facilities thus increasing the suffering of the sick inmates.

As far as food is concerned, it is not being served according to the jail manual, and surprisingly sometimes sick prisoners are posted at the kitchen, posing a serious threat to the healthy prisoners.

There are no separate barracks for the sick prisoners and they are being kept with the healthy ones.

The jail also lacks clean drinking water. It was also learnt that the prisoners involved in minor offences were sometimes kept in the punishment cell known as “Kasuri Chaki” for long time with the intent to mint money from them.

It was also learnt that a gang of jail officials not only grabbed money from the visitors but also took a sizable part of food and other things under the guise of checking. This illegal activity discourages poor visitors to see their relatives.

On the contrary, influential people are given VIP treatment and facilitated during their meeting with their relatives. The worst is that those appointed by the Home Department to keep an eye at the jail affairs are also turning a blind eye to this state of affairs.

Interestingly, the situation entirely changes during the scheduled visit of government high-ups to the jail.

When this correspondent contacted Superintendent Jail Saleem Butt, he admitted that at present there were 894 prisoners in the jail against the recommended strength of 428.

He said funds for hospital were received in two parts in one year, out of which the first part had almost finished, while requisition had been made for the second part. He said they had the facility to make local purchases to meet any emergency.

Saleem Butt said the jail administration spared no effort to provide health facilities to the prisoners adding that the sick prisoner was first treated at the jail hospital and if things worsened he was taken to the District Headquarters Hospital.

About lack of clean drinking water on the jail premises, he said a proposal had already been sent to the authorities concerned for installation of a water filtration plant. He said the visitors fee went into the account of Prisoners Aid Society and jail authorities could not use it without approval of the DCO.

He rejected the impression that sick prisoners were deputed at the jail kitchen saying that they were assigned duty after clearance by the doctor. He also denied that jail officials were grabbing money from the visitors.