Public, private hospitals in Karachi: Shahrukh Jatoi, 20 other convicted prisoners found living a very comfortable lifestyle

KARACHI: Shahrukh Jatoi, convicted in the murder of Shahzaib Khan in December 2012 in Karachi, and supposed to be serving a life sentence at the Central Jail Karachi, had been living a ‘luxurious life’ at a private hospital in the Gizri area of Karachi for the last seven months until he was shifted back to prison on Monday afternoon, health officials and jail authorities told The News on Monday.

“Shahrukh Jatoi was brought back to the Central Prison Karachi from Qamar-ul-Islam Hospital in Karachi on Monday afternoon. He was ‘under treatment’ at the said health facility for backache and other health issues for last several months,” an official of the Sindh Prison Department said.

Around 20 more high-profile convicted prisoners, who were shifted to various public and private hospitals in Karachi, were also sent back to the Central Prison Karachi after Geo News reported that Shahrukh Jatoi and other prisoners were out of jail and enjoying lavish lives at public and private health facilities in connivance with the Sindh prison authorities.

Officials said Shahrukh Jatoi was out of jail at least for the last 20 months and remained in one public and three private health facilities for being the most influential prisoner in Sindh till Monday and added that he used to live as a ‘free man’ with a car at his disposal, food from home and other facilities available to him.

“Shahrukh Jatoi was ‘under treatment’ at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC) in 2019 from where he was reportedly taken to a private health facility Mothercare Hospital in the Federal B Area for some time and then shifted to the Bayview Hospital in DHA for quite some time,” an official of the prison department said.

The official maintained that Shahrukh Jatoi was shifted to the Qamar-ul-Islam Hospital in the Gizri area of Clifton in May or June this year, which was either purchased by the family of Jatoi or it was rented by Jatoi to keep Shahrukh at the health facility, where he was living a luxurious life in a suite prepared for him.

The VIP room, which was on the first floor of the hospital, had a separate sitting area with leather sofas for visitors, a centre table, air conditioner, fridge and a TV on the wall while a sedan car was also at his disposal, officials running the health facility said.

Masood Shams-ul-Haq, one of the staff members at the Qamar-ul-Islam Hospital, said Shahrukh was shifted to this health facility in the Punjab Colony from the Bayview Hospital last year due to surge in Covid-19 cases and added that he had backache and some other complaints, on which he was brought to the private health facility for treatment.

“But today he was discharged and sent back to the prison after completion of his treatment,” Masood added.

Meanwhile, 20 more prisoners sent back to the Central Prison Karachi Following the media reports about the presence of Shahrukh Jatoi at a private hospital, who was called back to prison, around 20 more high-profile prisoners were shifted back to the Central Prison Karachi from the JPMC and a private hospital in the Bahadurabad area, officials said.

“Kishore Kumar, a convicted section officer of the education department, who was present at the Special Ward of the JPMC for last five and half months, was sent back to the Central Prison Karachi on Monday. There are two more prisoners at the JPMC, one in the Special Ward and the other in another ward, who would be sent back to the prison in a few days,” Prof Dr Shahid Rasool, Executive Director JPMC, told The News.

Around 18 more prisoners, including Saeed Bharam, an activist of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, were sent back to the Central Prison Karachi from a private hospital, which is notorious for sheltering the convicts in exchange for heavy bribes, officials in the health department said.

“Instead of sending prisoners to the JPMC and Civil Hospital Karachi, high profile prisoners were being given refuge at the private health facility in Bahadurabad on fake recommendation letters from public health facilities,” the health department official added.

There was no official word from the Sindh Prisons Department, Sindh Health Department or the Sindh Home Department on shifting to lesser known private hospitals for treatment.