Pakistan: Riots inside prison in Gujrat; gunshots fired, barracks set ablaze

Islamabad: In a shocking incident, a scuffle between police and inmates of the district prison in Pakistan’s Gujrat turned into a full-blown riot, with barracks set on fire and gunshots fired, leaving several prisoners and policemen injured. The incident took place on Monday evening at around 5 pm (local time), Dawn reported. A DSP-rank officer was also injured in the clash, while gunshots were heard from inside the prison and inmates also pelted stones on guards. Reason A clash broke out between police personnel and inmates after an exchange of “harsh words” between them, Gujrat District Police Officer Ghazanfar Shah informed. At first the police officials attempted to negotiate with the prisoners, however, soon after they started pelting stones, injuring Gujrat City Circle DSP Parvez Gondal and other officers. As police was unable to control the situation, they resorted to aerial firing to disperse the rioters but failed to rein them in, reports said. Later on, the injured officials were shifted to a hospital. Barracks set on fire According to ARY News, the prisoners set several barracks on fire and even climbed on their roofs after clashes broke out. The fire has been extinguished now, while efforts are on to control the situation for which talks were being held, police officials said. Security has been beefed up at the prison to avoid any possible attempts by the inmates to escape. After the clash, videos of the incident have gone viral on social media, however, veracity of the videos cannot be confirmed. In the videos, flames erupting from a prison building could be seen. Caretaker CM seeks action Taking note of the incident, Punjab’s caretaker chief minister Mohsin Naqvi has instructed the senior officials to reach the district jail and ensure “all possible measures” to bring the situation under control. Further, the police has been asked to determine the inmates responsible for the clashes and take relevant action against them. 2020 clashes at district jail in Gujrat This was not the first time when clashes between the police and inmates have been reported from the district jail in Pakistan’s Gujrat, Earlier in 2020, prisoners and police fought with each other soon after the latter took charge of the jail premises. Two police officials were injured back then. At that time also, the inmates resorted to violence and climbed up the walls of the prison, damaged the infrastructure and set several barracks on fire. (With inputs from agencies) Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.