RAWALPINDI, July 30: The police of the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad on Monday widened the scope of their investigation into the dramatic escape of key suspect, Roohullah, in the murder of former attorney general and retired judge of Peshawar High Court from district headquarters hospital.

The under-trial prisoner was brought to the hospital on July 16 for the treatment of some liver disease.

The Pindi investigating team collected the cellphone data of three police officials of Islamabad who were on guard duty at hospital. Besides, during investigations they came to know that the in-charge of the guards, an assistant sub-inspector, was at his Islamabad residence, instead of being present with the high profile under-trial prisoner at the hospital.

On the other hand, the capital police have constituted two separate teams to investigate the circumstances in which the suspect escaped and trace his whereabouts and arrest him again.

Preliminary investigations by them found jail administration, Rawalpindi and Capital police responsible for the escape of the suspected murderer.

According to the law, since the crime had been committed in capital police area, the jail administration should have got permission from Chief Commissioner Islamabad before shifting the murderer to the hospital and he should have been brought to Islamabad hospital.

The jail administration had informed only Islamabad police logistic wing on July 13 that the accused was being shifted to hospital only to seek police guard, the sources said.

Similarly, the jail officials were also not deployed with the accused and even did not declare the ward or room of the hospital a sub-jail, the sources added.

A source close to the investigation revealed that the Adiala jail authorities had written a letter to Islamabad police chief Inspector General Bani Amin and Medical Superintendent (MS) of District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) Dr Sher Ali Khan Niazi on July 18, asking them to send him back to the jail as soon as his treatment is completed. But none of the two senior government officials responded to the jail authorities.

When the MS DHQ Dr Sher was contacted he said: “The internal inquiry into the incident found no hospital staff negligent. It was the responsibility of policemen to keep him handcuffed.”

The MS said: “Had the high profile prisoner been handcuffed by the policemen, he would not have escaped.”

To a question, he said that it was not an unusual that the prisoners of Islamabad were brought to the DHQ hospital, instead of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences.

However, he said, the jail authorities should have sent him to the Pims instead of the Rawalpindi hospital.

The police team also interrogated the ward boys, paramedical staff of the District Headquarters Hospital in addition to some other patients admitted in the medical ward.

The team was surprised to know that the high profile under-trial prisoner was enjoying VIP facilities as a large number of visitors used to come to him with fruit, food items and he also used to enjoy talking to his friends through his cellphone from the hospital bed.

According to the investigation, ever since the under-trial prisoner was shifted to the hospital, the DSP Headquarters Islamabad Abdul Razaq only once visited the hospital to check the guard duty whereas the Reserve Inspector Islamabad police lines never visited the hospital.

Both the officers were equally responsible for the suspect’s security at the hospital.

Unconfirmed reports suggested that, Roohullah has flown to UK from Dubai.

Meanwhile, Rawalpindi Medical College (RMC) Principal and allied hospital chief executive Prof. Dr. Musadaq Khan on Monday formed three-member committee to investigate the incident and asked to submit its report within two days.

The committee is headed by Prof Dr Shoaib Shafi with pathological department’s Dr Mobina Dodi and Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) Additional Medical Superintendent Dr. Bashir Malik its members.

While talking to Dawn, RMC Principal Prof Dr Musadaq Khan said that initial reports suggested that no doctor or paramedical staff was involved in the incident and said that apparently it was an organised crime and a security lapse issue.

The committee will investigate whether rules have been followed at the time of admission of the prisoner in the hospital, he said.