14 state jail officials in soup for allowing Lashkar ultras to contact Pak handlers

CHANDIGARH : Up to 14 Punjab jail officials may face stern action for allegedly allowing two Lashkare-Toiba terrorists to contact their handlers in Pakistan, a senior officer said here on Friday. These officials were posted at three jails -- Nabha, Patiala and Amritsar -between 2009 and 2011 when the two terrorists got access to mobile phones.

“A preliminary inquiry established 14 officials were posted in jails (during the period) and the prison department has asked the Punjab government to take stern action against them,” additional director general of police (prisons) IPS Sahota said.

In December last year, a Jaipur court had asked the Punjab government to act against the erring jail officials for allowing LeT terrorists lodged in the state’s jails to contact the handlers.

The court had then awarded life terms to eight LeT terrorists, including the two lodged in Punjab jails, for criminal conspiracy, recruitment for terror activities and printing counterfeit notes. Of the two terrorists, Shakkar Ulla was lodged in Nabha jail, while Mohammad Iqbal spent time in Amritsar and Patiala jails. Rajasthan’s anti-terror squad had taken them into custody after their telephone conversations with their handlers were intercepted.

DIG Jails Lakhminder Singh Jakhar was jail superintendent in Patiala where Iqbal was lodged in 2009. The other officials include jail superintendents Sukhwinder Singh, Gurpal Singh Saroya, Manjit Singh Kalra and Jeewan Kumar Garg, and retired superintendents Prem Sagar Sharma, JP Singh, GS Sandhu and Balbir Singh Bisla. A deputy superintendent, Charanjit Singh, has passed away.