Telangana prison officials boost security for Pakistan inmates following murder in Jaipur jail

HYDERABAD: Following the killing of a Pakistani prisoner in Jaipur Central Prison in wake of the Pulwama terror attack, prison officials in Telangana have heightened the security for Pakistani prisoners lodged in the state’s jails. Currently three Pakistani prisoners are lodged in the state’s prisons of which one is a life convict.

Shakirullah, an alleged LeT operative from Sialkot in Pakistan was arrested under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for trying to radicalise Indian youth and lodged in a special cell at Jaipur Central Prison since 2011. In 2017 a local court sentenced him to life imprisonment.

On the afternoon of February 20, Shakirullah had an argument with other prisoners over the TV volume in prison following which other inmates had attacked him on the head with a loose stone. He died on the spot.

Following the incident, Pakistan’s foreign affairs spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal has appealed to the Indian government to ensure the safety of Pakistanis in India.

In view of the Shakirullah’s death, Telangana prison officials have stepped up security for the three Pakistani prisoners in Hyderabad jails. “Appropriate security measures are already in place for foreign prisoners in Telangana prisons. In view of the incident at Jaipur prison, the Pakistani prisoners have been segregated from others and put up in High Security cells,” Director General of Prisons, V K Singh said.

Currently three Pakistanis are lodged in Cherlapally and Chanchalguda central prisons in Hyderabad. One of them, Ashique Ali, who was convicted by Nizamabad court to undergo life sentence is lodged at Cherlapally prison.

He was convicted under sections 121 (waging war against government of India), 121-A (conspiring to commit offences against the state) of the IPC and section 14 of the Foreigners Act for passing on sensitive Indian defence establishment details to Pakistani nationals — Major Chaudhry Zahid Ahmed, Hawaldar Mahmood and Hawaldar Tahir.

Ashique had come to India in 2001 on a tourist visa. After reaching Indian, Ashique destroyed his passport and violated visa rules by visiting places in Punjab, Maharashtra and Telangana to collect information about defence establishments. Police arrested him near Jannapally junction in Nizamabad on January 26, 2002 when he was calling his handlers.