Pak Prisoner Attacked In Jammu Jail, Condition Serious

New Delhi, May 4, IRNA -- A Pakistani prisoner Sanaullah serving a life term was attacked inside the high-security Kot Balwal jail in Jammu by a fellow inmate Friday morning and his condition is stated to be serious, official sources said. It was not immediately known whether the attack on the 52-year-old convict with a sharp weapon was a backlash against the death of Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh in a hospital in Pakistan Thursday after being comatose for nearly a week following a brutal assault by fellow inmates in a high-security Lahore jail, the PTI reported quoting officials as said. The Kot Balwal jail superintendent Rajni Sehgal has been suspended by the Jammu and Kashmir Government which also ordered a probe. Sanaullah, a resident of Pakistan, was admitted in Government Medical College Hospital in an unconscious condition with serious injuries on his head after being hit by a fellow inmate. A case of assault was registered against Vinod Kumar, an ex-serviceman who is also serving a life term in the jail in the outskirts of Jammu. Kumar hails from Uttrakhand. The health condition of Sanaullah was stated to be very critical as he was hit with a very sharp weapon. He may be shifted to Chandigarhˈs PGI for treatment as his Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) was pretty low. Sanaullah was arrested on April 1999 in connection with five cases related to terror activities. The attacks occurred ahead of Sarabjitˈs funeral at his native village in Punjab. Following the death of 49-year-old Sarabjit in Pakistan, the Pakistani Union Home Ministry had issued advisories to all states for maintaining high vigil in jails and ensure there was no attack on any Pakistani prisoner lodged there. Excluding fishermen, there are about 220 Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails. A similar number of Indians are lodged in Pakistani jails./end