FAISALABAD, Dec 30: Prisons DIG Muhammad Afzal has held 14 jail officials, including an assistant superintendent, responsible for the escape of two convicts from the central jail.

A source close to the DIG, who was appointed as inquiry officer, told this correspondent here on Thursday that statements of 20 officials, including deputy superintendents and assistant superintendents, had been recorded. He also questioned prisoners who were close to the fleeing prisoners.

The DIG also inspected the place from where the prisoners escaped. The source said the DIG found that 10 warders, three head warders and an assistant superintendent was responsible for the escape of two prisoners.

Those found responsible for the escape of prisoners are; Assistant Superintendent Rana Irfan Suleman; head warders Haneef, Nasrullah Khan and Naeem Ahmad; warders Khalid Yaqoob, Akbar Ali, Ghulam Abbas, Ghulam Ali, Nawaz Saqi, Athar Hayat, Muhammad Mujtaba, Noor Ahmad, Jawed Omar and Younas. They had already been suspended from service and were in police custody.

The inquiry report was sent to the IG on Thursday. Meanwhile, an investigation team, after failing to make any headway in the incident, has decided to send 14 arrested officials on judicial remand.

Police sources said the investigation team questioned the jail officials a number of times. The team raided possible hideouts of the fleeing convicts but all efforts ended in smoke.

Convicts Ishtiaq and Sabir who were undergoing life term had escape from the jail on the night between Dec 24 and 25. A case was registered by the Saddar police station against the jail staff on duty. Twenty officials have been suspended from service while 17 of them are in police custody.