FAISALABAD, Nov 24: The 87 prisoners who were declared ‘trouble-makers’ after riots in Sahiwal jail have been confined to special cells of different jails of the province and are being tortured continuously.

Following riots in the Sahiwal Central Jail on Nov 14, in which a prisoner was killed and over 24 others injured, these prisoners were shifted to 11 far-flung jails of the province. Even they are not allowed to meet their relatives.

Jail authorities had declared 87 prisoners ‘miscreants’ and tortured them severely to take revenge of the Nov 14 incident, and the practice is still going on in the jails where they have been shifted.

According to sources in the Jail Department, these prisoners were lashed 15 each. Later, they were confined to separate barracks and could not provide with medical aid. Even they were not allowed to observe fast.

“After 48 hours of the incident, these 87 prisoners were shifted to Adyala Jail, Rawalpindi, district jails of Jhelum, Dera Ghazi Khan, Sargodha, Bahawalpur, Multan, Kasur and Mianwali, Kot Lakhpat Jail, Lahore, and central and district jails of Faisalabad.

Jamaat Ali of Burewala told this correspondent that Sahiwal jail administration had refused to provide him any information about the condition of his son who was undergoing 25-year rigorous imprisonment. However, he alleged, after greasing the palms of some jail officials, he came to know that his son had been shifted to Faisalabad.

He claimed he tried his best to see his son in the Central Jail, Faisalabad, but all his efforts proved futile when the authorities concerned told him that a ban had been imposed on meeting these trouble-making prisoners.

The same treatment was also meted out to the relatives of other prisoners.

When contacted, Faisalabad Central Jail deputy superintendent Intizar Wali Khan admitted that seven prisoners had been shifted to his jail with a directive that they should be tortured as they were trouble-makers. “These inmates will not be allowed to meet their relatives for a month,” he said.

He said: “Jail-birds are not gentlemen as they have committed heinous crimes like taking lives of human beings. I don’t know why the media people or the human rights organizations are making hue and cry for providing facilities to the prisoners who kill the people.

29 gamblers held: The local police on Saturday night rounded up 29 gamblers, including three den owners, from different city areas in surprise raids.

Special police teams headed by SHOs raided shops-cum-dens of gambling in their respective areas and caught red-handed youths and aged persons while gambling through cricket match.

Factory Area police arrested Zulfiqar Ali, Taj Muhammad, Iftikhar, Muhammad Akram, Yaqoob, Abdul Rasheed, Muhammad Jawed, Muhammad Shafiq, Dawood along with Rs5,000 stake money from Nazimabad. Nasir Butt, the shop owner, was also arrested.

Ghulam Muhammad police arrested Ghulam Abbas and Muhammad Salar along with shop owner, Muhammad Amjad.

Another police team arrested gamblers, including Aqeel, Abdul Majeed, Muhammad Nazir, Abdul Sattar, Abdullah, Ashraf, Afzal, Shahzad, Bilal and shop owner Muhammad Amin from Madanpura.

Police also seized television sets and the gambling record. All the arrested have been sent to jail after registering cases against them.

ARRESTED: Jhang Bazaar police on Sunday claim to have arrested two persons posing themselves as excise inspectors.

Abdul Jabbar and Imran Ahmed had introduced themselves as excise inspector to shopkeeper Usman Khalid. They threatened to implicate him in a case if he did not give them bribe. Casting doubt over their actions, the shopkeeper informed the police who rushed to the spot and arrested the impersonators. They were sent to jail after the registration of a case against them.