Jammu, May 3 (IANS): A Pakistani prisoner was critically injured when he was attacked by a fellow prisoner in the high security Kot Bhalwal jail here, police said Friday, a day after Indian death row prisoner Sarabjit Singh died after being attacked in Lahore.
Sanaullah, a resident of Sialkot, was attacked by former Indian Army soldier Vinod Kumar, convicted for murder, following an altercation Friday morning, a police officer said.
He received serious head injuries and was taken to the Government Medical College Hospital in Jammu, where doctors said he had slipped into a coma, much like Sarabjit Singh who was attacked in a Lahore jail April 26 and died Thursday.
"He has suffered serious head injuries and is in a coma. He has been admitted to Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and we are planning surgery on him as early as possible," a doctor at the hospital said.
The administration has readied stand-by arrangements to shift Sanaullah for specialised treatment outside Jammu and Kashmir "if required", an official said
Jail sources said Sanaullah had been in the Kot Bhalwal Jail for the last 17 years. He has been booked in eight cases, including murder, and been given life imprisonment in two.
Vinod Kumar belongs to Uttarakhand and has been in Kot Bhalwal for six years. He is undergoing life imprisonment for murdering his colleague in Leh.
According to sources, both were brought to the jail grounds Friday as was routine. "They were all talking to each other when all of sudden some altercation took place between the two and Vinod Kumar hit Sanaullah on the head."
Officials are trying ascertain whether Sanaullah was attacked with bricks or a shovel handle.
The state administration has tightened security in all the 14 jails in Jammu and Kashmir where about 80 Pakistani prisoners are lodged.
Pakistan seeks consular access to injured prisoner
New Delhi, May 3 (IANS): Pakistan Friday expressed serious concern over the attack on a Pakistani prisoner in the high security Kot Bhalwal jail in Jammu and sought immediate consular access to him.
"Pakistan High Commission has taken up with the ministry of external affairs the attack on Pakistani prisoner Sanaullah in Kot Bhalwal in Jammu," said a statement.
"Pakistan High Commission has asked for detailed information of the incident, immediate consular access, medical facilities for the victim and security of inmates (other Pakistani prisoners)," it added.
Sanaullah was critically injured when he was attacked by a fellow prisoner, police in Jammu said Friday, a day after Indian death row prisoner Sarabjit Singh died after being attacked in Lahore.
Sanaullah, a resident of Sialkot, was attacked by a former Indian Army soldier, convicted for murder, following an altercation Friday morning, a police officer said.
He received serious head injuries and was taken to the Government Medical College Hospital in Jammu, where doctors said he had slipped into a coma, much like Sarabjit Singh who was attacked in a Lahore jail on April 26 and died Thursday.
The administration has readied stand-by arrangements to shift Sanaullah for specialised treatment outside Jammu and Kashmir "if required", an official said
Police said Sanaullah was being tried for murder since the late 1990s for carrying out acts of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir.
Inquiry on in attack on Pakistani prisoner: Shinde
New Delhi, May 3 (IANS): An inquiry was on in the attack on a Pakistani prisoner in a jail in Jammu, union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said here Friday.
"The incident took place at 8-8.30 a.m. There was an attack on a Pakistani inmate in Jammu jail. An inquiry is being conducted," Shinde told reporters.
He, however, refused to comment if it was in retaliation to the attack and consequent death of Sarabjit Singh in Pakistan.
Sarabjit Singh, who had spent over 20 years in jail in Pakistan, died Thursday in a Lahore hospital. He had been on death row after being convicted as a terrorist.
Inquiry on in attack on Pakistani prisoner: Shinde
New Delhi, May 3 (IANS): An inquiry was on in the attack on a Pakistani prisoner in a jail in Jammu, union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said here Friday.
"The incident took place at 8-8.30 a.m. There was an attack on a Pakistani inmate in Jammu jail. An inquiry is being conducted," Shinde told reporters.
He, however, refused to comment if it was in retaliation to the attack and consequent death of Sarabjit Singh in Pakistan.
Sarabjit Singh, who had spent over 20 years in jail in Pakistan, died Thursday in a Lahore hospital. He had been on death row after being convicted as a terrorist.