Rawalakot prison escape

Last updated
Rawalakot Prison Escape
Date2024
Location
Rawalakot, Poonch district, Azad Jammu and Kashmir
Result Ongoing
Belligerents
Escaped prisoners Azad Kashmir authorities
Commanders and leaders
Ghazi Shahzad (escaped prisoner)
Strength
19 prisoners
Casualties and losses
1 dead 7 officials arrested, several suspended

The Rawalkot prison escape was a security incident that took place in Azad Jammu and Kashmir on 30 June 2024, when 19 prisoners, including six on death row, managed to escape from the Rawalkot district jail in Poonch district. [1] [2] The inmates overpowered the policemen at gunpoint before escaping. Dangerous criminals are also among those who escaped. [3] [4]

Contents

The escape

Allegedly, the prisoners took the police officers hostage during the operation. A prisoner managed to get hold of a pistol, which he used to subdue a guard and seize the keys to the prison cells. During the escape, there was an exchange of fire and one prisoner was injured and later succumbed to his injuries. [3] [4] [1] Notorious Ghazi Shehzad was also Among escapees. [3]

Aftermath

In the wake of the escape, authorities in Azad Kashmir sprang into action. They dismissed the Inspector General of Prisons and detained seven officials. [5] [6] The superintendent and several staff members of Rawalakot Jail were suspended due to their negligence. [6] [7] An investigation was promptly initiated to figure out how the prisoners had managed to break free. Meanwhile, law enforcement agencies set up blockades, making every effort to recapture the escapees. [3] [8]

Investigation

The Azad Kashmir High Court was called upon to establish a judicial commission to delve into the incident. [6] A large-scale manhunt was set in motion to track down and apprehend all the fugitives. [9] The police have made public a list of the escapees, and the area has been blanketed with heavy security. [7]

The government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir has put forth substantial rewards for information that could lead to the arrest of the escapees. They've announced a hefty reward of Rs 10 million for tips leading to the capture of six prisoners on death row. For example, on two prisoners serving 25-year sentences, they're offering a reward of 50 lakh rupees. As for the rest of the fugitives, there's a reward of Rs 30 lakh up for grabs. [10]

Impact

The escape raised security concerns as all jails in Azad Kashmir were put on high alert. [11] [5] As a result of this incident, several prison officials were suspended and the Inspector General of Prisons was removed. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azad Kashmir</span> Region administered by Pakistan

Azad Jammu and Kashmir abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entity and constituting the western portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has been the subject of a dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947. Azad Kashmir also shares borders with the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the south and west, respectively. On its eastern side, Azad Kashmir is separated from the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir by the Line of Control (LoC), which serves as the de facto border between the Indian- and Pakistani-controlled parts of Kashmir. Geographically, it covers a total area of 13,297 km2 (5,134 sq mi) and has a total population of 4,045,366 as per the 2017 national census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poonch District, Pakistan</span> District of Azad Kashmir administered by Pakistan

Poonch District is a district of Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. It is one of the 10 districts of this Pakistan-administered territory. It is bounded on the north by Bagh District, on the north-east by Haveli District, on the south-east by the Poonch District of Indian-administered Kashmir, on the south by Azad Kashmir's Sudhanoti and Kotli districts, and on the west by Rawalpindi District of Pakistan's Punjab Province. The Poonch District is part of the greater Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan. The district headquarters is the city of Rawalakot. It is the third most populous district of Azad Kashmir.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prison escape</span> An inmate leaving prison unlawfully

A prison escape is the act of an inmate leaving prison through unofficial or illegal ways. Normally, when this occurs, an effort is made on the part of authorities to recapture them and return them to their original detainers. Escaping from prison is also a criminal offense in some countries, such as the United States and Canada, and it is highly likely to result in time being added to the inmate's sentence, as well as the inmate being placed under increased security that is most likely a maximum security prison or supermax prison. In Germany, and a number of other countries, it is considered human nature to want to escape from a prison and it is considered as a violation of the right of freedom, so escape is not penalized in itself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maqbool Bhat</span> Kashmiri separatist leader

Maqbool Bhat, also spelt Maqbool Butt (1938–1984), was a Kashmiri pro-independence leader who went to Pakistan and founded the resistance group National Liberation Front (NLF), which was a precursor to the present day Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF). He is also termed as the "Father of the Nation of Kashmir" Baba-e-Qaum, by the locals. Bhat carried out multiple attacks in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. He was arrested and sentenced to double death sentence. He was hanged on 11 February 1984 in Tihar Jail in Delhi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clovis, New Mexico jail break</span> 2008 jail escape

The Clovis, New Mexico jail break refers to an August 24, 2008 jail escape from the Curry County Adult Detention Center.

Muhammad Sajjad Khan was a Pakistani militant and Commander-in-Chief of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen. He was known as Sajjad Afghani, due to his participation in the Soviet-Afghan War.

Human rights abuses in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan, have been issue, ranging from forced disappearances, claimed torture to political repression and electoral fraud and suppression of freedom of speech. According to the human rights commission of Pakistan, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) carries out extensive surveillance operations on the press and pro-independence groups, they have carried out arbitrary arrests in which people have been tortured and several have died. Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) is cited to indicate that dozens have disappeared after their arrests in Pakistan-held Kashmir. A significant number of cases point to the Inter-Services Intelligence’s involvement in these disappearances".

Rana Sanaullah Haq, also known as Sanaullah Ranjay, was a Pakistani national from Sialkot, Punjab who was serving a life term in a jail in India for his involvement in terror acts with the banned militant group Hizbul Mujahideen, as per the verdict by Indian courts. Before being incarcerated, he was reportedly involved in separatist activities and two bombing incidents in Indian-administered Kashmir. On 3 May 2013, he was attacked by a former Indian soldier Vinod Kumar, who had been convicted of murder. Reports of his attack came a day after the murder of an Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh in Pakistani detention. Sanaullah died six days later due to the injuries sustained during the attack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kogi prison break</span> 2014 prison break in Nigerian prison

The Kogi prison break was an attack on Koto-Karffi Federal Medium Security Prisons in Kogi State, in north-central Nigeria by unknown gunmen suspected to be members of the terrorist group, Boko Haram. The attack occurred on 2 November 2014. About 144 prisoners escaped from the prison; 1 inmate was shot and killed during the attack. The escaped prisoners were largely awaiting trial for robbery. Twelve inmates returned to the prison to serve out their sentences and about 45 escaped prisoners were recaptured altogether.

A prison break is an unlawful act under Nigerian law, of a prisoner forcing their way out of a prison. It can also be described as attacks on the Nigerian Prisons Services by terrorists such as Boko Haram and armed robbers in which many prisoners are released. Often, when this occurs effort are made by the Nigerian Prisons Services in conjunction with security agency to rearrest the escapee and return them to the prison and this may result in the extension of their jail term. Prison break in Nigeria may be attributed to corruption, poor funding of the prison services, poor prison facilities, inadequate security features such as CCTV, motion sensors, high wall made up of barbed wire and sometimes electric fencing of the wall.

On January 22, 2016, three inmates of the Orange County Men's Central Jail in Santa Ana, California, escaped from the jail's maximum-security unit by climbing through the plumbing pipes and ascending to the roof. They stole a utility van and a taxi in Los Angeles, taking the taxi driver hostage, and drove to San Jose. One inmate, Bac Duong, went along with the hostage driver back to Southern California and surrendered to police in Santa Ana on January 29. The other two inmates, Hossein Nayeri and Jonathan Tieu, were arrested in San Francisco on January 30. Multiple people were arrested for allegedly aiding the inmates to escape, including a jail teacher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gilgit Division</span> Administrative division of Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan

Gilgit Division is an administrative division of Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region. Gilgit is the divisional headquarters of Gilgit Division. Since divisions were restored as an administrative structure in 2008, the division currently consists of six districts:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baltistan Division</span> Administrative division of Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan

Baltistan Division is a first-order administrative division of Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region. It overlaps with the historical Baltistan region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government of Azad Kashmir</span> State government in Pakistani-administered Kashmir

The Government of Azad Kashmir is the state government which administers one of the territories of Pakistani-administered Kashmir territories of Azad Kashmir. The Azad Kashmir government consists of a president as head of state and a prime minister as chief executive, with the support of a council of ministers. The state assembly is the Azad Kashmir Legislative Assembly.

The 1955 Poonch revolt, also known as the 1955 Sudhan uprising was a Civil revolt in Azad Jammu and Kashmir against the State of Pakistan. The uprising broke out in February 1955 and was provoked largely by the dismissal of Sardar Ibrahim Khan. It took a year until the uprising was suppressed in October 1956.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diamer Division</span> Administrative division of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

Diamer Division, also known as Diamer-Astore Division, is a first-order administrative division of Gilgit-Baltistan region in Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gilboa Prison break</span> 2021 event in Israel

The Gilboa Prison break was a security event in Israel which occurred on 6 September 2021, when six Palestinian prisoners escaped from Gilboa Prison, a maximum security prison in northern Israel, through a tunnel.

On 4 November 2023, armed men raided the Maison Centrale de Conakry prison and broke out former President of Guinea Moussa Dadis Camara and three other officials. The raid killed nine people and injured six others.

References

  1. 1 2 "19 break out of derelict Rawalakot prison in AJK".
  2. "19 prisoners escape from Rawalakot jail".
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Notorious criminal among 19 prisoners escape Rawalakot Jail".
  4. 1 2 "18 inmates flee a prison after overpowering guard in Pakistan-administered Kashmir". Associated Press News .
  5. 1 2 "IG prisons removed, 7 officials arrested over Rawalakot jailbreak".
  6. 1 2 3 4 Desk, Web (July 1, 2024). "Seven jail staffers arrested for allegedly facilitating Rawalakot inmates escape". ARY NEWS.
  7. 1 2 "19 prisoners escape from Rawalakot jail". www.thenews.com.pk.
  8. "Manhunt Intensifies After Jailbreak in Southern Rawalakot of Pakistan-administered Kashmir - Kashmir Times (Since 1954): Multi-media web news platform".
  9. "18 inmates flee a prison after overpowering guard in Pakistan-administered Kashmir". AP News. July 1, 2024.
  10. "AJK govt announces rewards for information on escaped inmates".