LANDI KOTAL, Feb 17: The assistant political agent, Bara sub-division, dismissed a line officer on Thursday after three criminals escaped from the Bara lock-up on Wednesday.

The authorities have also arrested a retired jail havaldar, Farid Khan, on suspicion of his involvement in the prisoners' escape.

A agency official told Dawn that the four khasadars, who were on duty when the three outlaws escaped, were handed over to the CIA for further interrogation in Peshawar. They were taken into custody soon after the jail-breaking incident.

He said that the khasadars had helped Sedak Zakhakhel, Naseeb Khan and Dawa Khan escape. Only the khasadars on duty had the jail keys and its lock was opened with a key and not broken. He said that the services of line officer Yasin Khan were terminated because of his negligence from duty.

Sedak and Naseeb had recently been shifted from the political agent's office at the Khyber House in Peshawar to Bara prison. The Bara authorities had handed them over to the Peshawar police for interrogation a month ago. Meanwhile, sources in Bara told this journalist that the recently-appointed political tehsildar, Bara Afsar Ali, had also gone on leave.