‘Mentally sick’ convict kills fellow inmate, injures 2 others in Adiala Jail

Rawalpindi: In another trembling incident of violence taking place in Adiala Jail Rawalpindi, an inmate was killed and two others were seriously injured by a convict in the wee hours of Thursday, the jail spokesman said.

The murder accused, Mohammad Ahsan, son of Abdul Hameed, was serving his term in a drug dealing case. He was arrested by the Sadiqabad police. The victim killed by Mohammad Ahsan has been identified as Ejaz Rabbani, while the injured have been identified as Sheraz Ahmad and Hammad Ali. The accused used a brick to crush the head of the victim and break the body bones of others.

However, two different accounts have surfaced regarding the nature of in-house violence – a statement released from the jail administration and a claim made by the eyewitness account – are different from each other’s.

According to the press release issued by jail authorities, the incident occurred in Cell No. 8, separated from the mental patients' ward, and involved an accused identified as Mohammad Ahsan serving his term in a drug dealing case.

Police claimed in a press statement that the accused inmate broke a water mug and sharpened its handle in the shape of a knife to get a brick out of a wall. He completed the task in a week, police claimed. “The inmate got the brick out and attacked his three cell-mates – Ejaz Rabbani (jailed on 18th January 2024), Sheraz Ahmad (jailed on 24th January 2024), and Hammad Ali (imprisoned on 12th January 2024) about 2:30 am when they were sleeping. He started hitting their heads and other parts of their bodies,” the police in the press release said and added that all three inmates were wounded critically. The police claimed that the jail staff reached the scene upon hearing hue and crying and shifted all the injured to the jail dispensary and later transferred them to PIMS but Ejaz Rabbani succumbed to his injuries on his way to the hospital. While, the inmates who witnessed the incident, claimed that the jail administration arrived at the scene an hour after the occurrence of the incident and one of the injured had already expired before the arrival of the jail force.

The people engaged in the investigation of the case, expressed surprise over the confinement of the individual arrested in the case of drug dealing, and also admitted to the mental patients' ward four months ago with other criminals.

Questions arose regarding why a person detained in a mental patient's separate cell, was confined so quickly, or how the police arrested a mentally ill person in a drug dealing case leading to a significant amount of drugs being smuggled in the jail and the individual being declared mentally sick.

This incident raises questions about the police as well, as it is speculated that the police might have arrested a mentally ill person for house theft, turning it into a drug-pushing case. The police have lodged the first information report (FIR) against the accused, Muhammad Ahsan, son of Abdul Hameed, under murder charges of Ijaz Rabbani and injuring two other detainees. At the time of the incident, there were eight to ten detainees in the cell.

The body of Ijaz Rabbani has been transferred to PIMS, while Hamad Ali and Sheraz, the two injured individuals, have been shifted to the hospital. The insiders of the jail administration indicated that the jail authorities have hidden the real picture of the episode to cover the “traditional negligence” of the jail administration.

It is worth noting that a similar incident occurred two months ago when another person was killed in Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi and the jail administration hid the reality of the killing case in the inquiry report, the insider disclosed. On the orders of Chief Minister Punjab, the jail authorities have initiated an inquiry to submit a report to the CM Punjab Maryam Nawaz to ascertain the facts about the latest episode.