Police officers suspended

MULTAN—The superintendent of district jail, his deputy and two assistant superintendents have been put under suspension following the escape of five prisoners from the jail on Monday. DIG Prisons South Farooq Nazir told APP that it was gross negligence of the jail staff and a security lapse. When asked whether any official was involved, Farooq Nazir said: “We have not found anything on this angle so far.” He, however, added that case has been registered against seven prisoners, five of them managed to escape and two others were apprehended while fleeing. He said that two prisoners who were caught during their bid to escape will be interrogated on how they managed to execute the escape plan and who helped them. Investigations by police will help find out whether any person from jail staff was involved or not. Those suspended included superintendent district jail Malik Murtaza Shamim, deputy superintendent Arshad, and assistant superintendents Farhan Naqvi and Muhammad Arshad. Sources say that two Havaldars and three constables were also suspended. It may be noted that seven prisoners made an attempt to escape by scaling the jail wall during early hours of Monday, however, two of them were held while they were escaping. One was caught before he could scale up the jail wall while the other was arrested from a graveyard outside the prison.—Online