FAISALABAD, Dec 27: Around 20 Central Jail officials, including two deputy superintendents and as many assistant superintendents, were suspended while 17 of them were taken into custody after the registration of a case against them for negligence which resulted in the escape of two convicts.

Muhammad Ishtiaq (38) of Chak 289-JB, Toba Tek Singh district, and Sabir Hussain (42) of Chiniot Road, both involved in separate murder cases, were undergoing life imprisonment in the local central jail. Both the prisoners hatched a conspiracy to escape from jail with the alleged connivance of the jail staff.

According to investigators, the two convicts involved some low-paid jail employees and slipped from their barracks on the night between Friday and Saturday last. They succeeded in scaling the boundary wall of the jail with the help of a wooden stair.

The jail superintendent, when came to know about their escape, declared emergency in the jail and checked the other barracks. He also informed the area police about the escape of two prisoners.

Sadar SHO Muhammad Ayub Sahi formally lodged a case under sections 223 and 224 PPC claiming that the central jail staff had informed him by telephone that two prisoners had escaped with the abetment of the duty staff.

The SHO along with other personnel reached the central jail and initiated legal proceedings. Some senior police officials and administrative functionaries also rushed to the spot.

Meanwhile, IG (Prisons) Salahuddin Khan Niazi deputed DIG Jails, Nasir Mehmood Warraich, to probe into the matter. The inquiry officer recorded statements of the entire duty staff at the barracks.

Sources close to police officials and jail personnel told this correspondent that in the light of preliminary inquiry report, the IG (Prisons) ordered the suspension of DSs (jail) Mian Hafeezur Rehman and Sheikh Jawed Afzal; ASs (jail) Rana Irfan Suleman and Muhammad Naseem; head warders Muhammad Haneef, Nasrullah Khan and Naeem Ahmed and 12 warders - Khalid Yaqoob, Akbar Ali, Ghulam Abbas, Ghulam Ali, Muhammad Nawaz Saqi, Athar Hayat, Muhammad Mujtaba, Noor Ahmed, Jawed Omer, Ghulam Akbar and Muhammad Younas.

They further said that except for the two DSs (jail) the entire jail staff, who was on duty at the time of escape of the two prisoners, had been taken into custody and were being interrogated by the jail high-ups and a team of senior officials of the Sadar police station.

The DSs (jail) were also called for interrogation, but they were allowed to go home with the condition that they would remain in touch with the investigators for further questioning.

Police sources said that a special team of the investigation staff raided the houses of convicts in Toba Tek Singh and Thikriwala villages. Some of the relatives were questioned by the police team about the escape of two prisoners. However, no clue to the escapees has so far been found.