RAWALPINDI: A total of 11 officials from Central Jail Adiala have been suspended following allegations that a prisoner was sexually assaulted by another inmate.

Jail superintendent Chaudhry Saqib Nazeer and the deputy superintendent have also been asked to explain why they did not look into the allegations.

An inquiry into the incident was ordered by Inspector General of Prisons Punjab Shahid Saleem Baig, after which 11 officials were suspended, while the two aforementioned officials were asked to explain their negligence.

The IGP said the Rawalpindi region deputy inspector general of prisons, the inquiry officer, has recommended disciplinary proceedings against the 11 officials.

The incident came to light during an official visit to the jail by Additional District and Sessions Judge Rana Masood Akhtar, when a prisoner told him he was sexually assaulted by another prisoner.

According to a senior official, the victim was taken to a hospital for a medical examination on the judge’s directives. An FIR has yet to be registered by the police as the medical report is still awaited.

Rawalpindi region Deputy Inspector General of Prisons Rana Abdul Rauf was appointed inquiry officer and found negligence on the part of the superintendent, deputy superintendent and 11 jail wardens in their handling of the case.

Following the inquiry, the 11 wardens were suspended and explanations were sought from the two senior officials.

The suspended wardens include senior wardens Nowsherwan, Ghulam Rabbani, Tahir Shahzad, Rashid Ali and Mohammad Irfan.

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2019