Authorities confirmed on Tuesday that an additional 10 prisoners, who had escaped during a jailbreak in the port city caused by an earthquake, have voluntarily returned to Landhi Jail in Malir district over the three days of Eid ul Adha.
A total of 213 inmates initially broke out of Karachi’s District Malir Jail during an evacuation prompted by earthquake tremors. The incident reportedly escalated when prison staff moved inmates to an open courtyard for safety, but the ensuing commotion led to a loss of control, allowing hundreds to flee.
According to Jail Superintendent Shahab Siddiqui, some escapees were apprehended, while others returned on their own accord. This recent wave of returns brings the total number of recaptured inmates to 149, leaving 66 still at large, an official disclosed.
Last week, prisoners from two sections of Malir Jail, who had been brought outside due to continuous tremors, assaulted security personnel. Frontier Corps (FC) personnel initially attempted to contain the inmates with batons before resorting to aerial firing, but they were ultimately overwhelmed, leading to the mass escape.
During the chaotic incident, at least three FC personnel and one jail staffer sustained injuries, and one prisoner was killed. In the aftermath, the facility’s IT room suffered damage to its servers and equipment, and its doors were also compromised.
A joint operation involving multiple law enforcement agencies, including the police, Rangers, Frontier Corps, the Special Security Unit (SSU), and the Rapid Response Force (RRF), was launched to track down the escapees, resulting in the immediate re-arrest of nearly 100 inmates.
Taking serious notice of the matter, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah removed the Inspector General of Prisons, the Deputy Inspector General of Prisons, and the then-jail superintendent from their positions, citing negligence that led to one of the “biggest” jailbreaks in recent memory. He also directed Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident, involving Commissioner Karachi Hassan Naqvi and Karachi Police Chief Javed Alam Odho.
