March 25, 2006	Saturday	Safar 24, 1427

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RAWALPINDI, March 24: A case of attempt to murder was registered on Friday against the superintendent of Adiala Jail, his deputy and three prisoners on the complaint of a convicted murderer who was attacked and grievously injured by the three, police said.

Prison sources said the five were booked on the serious charge after Superintendent Malik Shaukat Firoze resigned in a huff after Punjab’s Inspector General of Prisons Sarfaraz Ahmed Mufti rebuked him for the overnight brawl, the second in a week, in which the three prisoners slashed the throat of convict Ilyas Mehdi outside Barrack No. 6.

Mehdi was rescued by prison guards and taken to Rawalpindi General Hospital where the Saddar Baironi police recorded his statement and registered an FIR against superintendent Firoze, his deputy Malik Safdar, and prisoners Asad Akram, Majid Akram and Shahid Abdul Razzaq.

Reportedly Mehdi alleged that the jail superintendent had instigated the attack on him as he had complained about drug peddling inside the jail by one Rizwan, an accomplice of the attackers.

A similar incident had taken place a week ago. Taking notice of the same complaint by under-trial prisoner Imran Saleem, the Supreme Court directed authorities concerned to appear before it on March 29 to explain the attack on Saleem.

After the latest incident, Punjab’s IG Prisons pulled up the superintendent of Adiala Jail who, according to official sources, filed a resignation letter, protesting that “abusive language” had been used against him. He faxed copies of the resignation to IG Prisons, the Chief Secretary and the Home Secretary of Punjab.

“Had I not tendered my resignation, I would have suffered a nervous breakdown,” the sources quoted him as saying before leaving his office.

Superintendent Malik Firoze himself was not available for comments.