RAWALPINDI: The four-member committee formed by the Punjab chief minister to investigate the Adiala jail incident has recommended criminal proceedings against 11 jail guards and departmental action against the jail superintendent and deputy superintendent.

The committee, headed by Commissioner Zahid Saeed with additional secretary Punjab home department, inspector general prisons and the city police officer Rawalpindi as its members, submitted its report to the provincial government on Saturday. The report found the officials negligent in their duties.

A prison guard shot and injured a blasphemy convict, a British national, on Thursday.

The committee also recommended to improve the security of three other accused of blasphemy detained in the Adiala jail and asked the jail authorities to shift them to a separate cell.

They were found negligent in their duties at the time of shootout

Taking notice of the increased radicalisation within the force, the committee also recommended seeking psychiatrist help. It also urged the government to scrutinise the guards detailed in and around jails and VIP duties to avoid repetition of such incidents.

The committee held 13 jail officials responsible for allowing the guard, Mohammad Yousaf, enter the jail premises after duty timings.

The committee found many jail officials absent from duty and those on duty let the guard enter the jail without a security check.

The incident proved that the policemen deployed on the jail premises needed combat training as they failed to overpower Yousaf before his action.

When contacted, Commissioner Zahid Saeed told Dawn that the committee had sent its report to the Punjab home department and held 13 people directly or indirectly involved in the case.

“The incident occurred due to the negligence of the administration of the jail,” he said.

“The jail officials will face criminal proceedings for their negligence and two of them will face departmental action as they were not directly involved in the case,” he said.

He said video footages from the Close Circuit TV (CCTV) cameras showed several guards missing from their duties. However, during their interviews, they claimed that they were on duty, he said.

“Mohammad Yousaf entered the jail while hiding his unlicenced pistol and a dagger in his long boots.

“He told the guards at gate No 1 that he was going to get the keys of his motorcycle and the guards allowed him to enter without any physical search. He also entered the cell where the victim was staying on the plea that he had to get advice for his toothache from an Indian inmate,” he said.

“The committee also recommended checking the mental condition of the officials twice a year,” he said.

Mr Saeed said there was a dire need to increase the number of CCTV cameras within the jail premises and depute senior officials at the control room to monitor each and every activity of the jail inmates and the officials.

Published in Dawn, September 28th, 2014