Karachi: Police in Pakistan`s largest city claim to have arrested nearly 10,000 criminals during an ongoing crackdown but only 1,600 have been sent to jail.
Senior police official Abdul Khaliq Sheikh claimed to the media that almost 10,000 criminals were arrested during the operation and 5,000 of them had been sent to Central Jail and Malir Jail in Karachi.
But prison officials denied his claim and said only 1,600 people arrested since September had been sent to the two jails.
Central Jail official Nazeer Hussain Shah said 900 people arrested in the operation were being held in the facility. "Before the operation, the total figure of inmates was 4,000, which has now risen to 4,900. Most of the criminals arrested are target killers and extortionists," he said.
In Malir Jail, accused arrested during the operation number only 700. The population of inmates increased from 2,400 to 3,100 prisoners, said an official.
According to him, the accused brought to Malir Jail are mostly persons held for minor crimes like possessing illegal arms. "The influx of these prisoners has now led to overcrowding and congestion in the barracks," he said.
"There are problems. For example, the inmates don?t have much space and have to sleep very uncomfortably."
Sheikh also claimed 3,000 to 4,000 men had been released on bail by court or by police. While police claimed they had arrested 9,944 men in 4,849 raids in the past three months, they specified the crimes of only a few.
