rawalpindi - In a bizarre incident, a notorious land grabber and his gang wrestled with inmates belonging to a minority in Adiala Jail and cropped ears of one prisoner with a steel cutter while disfigured faces of four others for not paying regard and providing massage service to the land grabber, languishing in jail for murdering a woman on land dispute, reliable sources disclosed to The Nation on Thursday.

The injured inmates were shifted to hospital for medical treatment where they were identified as Tariq Masih, Qabal Laal, Shehzad Masih, Arslan Haider and Suhail Ahmad, sources added.

However, the jail administration is trying to hush-up the issue apparently to save the skin of the notorious land grabber Imtiaz Ali alias Taji Khokhar and his  gang imprisoned in the jail, they said.

According to the sources, a clash occurred between Taji Khokhar and Tariq Masih groups in Adiala Jail on Wednesday when Khokhar summoned some prisoners belonging to a minority in his cell and objected as to why they (prisoners) did not pay him regard and provide him with massage service. Upon refusal on the part of Masih and his friends, sources said, Khokhar ordered his men to attack the prisoners and teach them an unforgettable lesson for showing rebellion.

“Taji’s men, more than 50 in number, attacked upon the prisoners and tortured them mercilessly,” they said.

They added that Khokhar slashed the ears of Masih with a steel cutter and also injured his head by hitting with some blunt weapon.

Similarly, Khokhar’s group members including Farhan Babar, Sherazur Rehman, Hamid Iqbal and Umer Babar disfigured the faces of four other inmates with blunt weapons, sources said.

This occurrence of shocking incident in heavily guarded Adiala Jail sent waves of panic among other prisoners besides exposing the poor security of Adiala Jail administration, sources said.

The injured prisoners were moved to jail hospital for initial medical treatment where their condition is said to be critical because of the absence of state-of-the-art medical facilities, sources mentioned.

Adiala Jail Superintendent Saeed Ullah Gondal, when approached by The Nation for his comments over the incident, said that just scuffling occurred between under-trial prisoners over a minor issue. He added none of them belonged to Taji Khokhar group. He said the inmates who fought are involved in different cases of theft and robbery.

“We have closed the troublemaker prisoners in separate cells as punishment and to overcome the issue,” Saeed Ullah Gondal said.

An investigation is underway into the incident while report in this regard would be sent to sessions judge soon, the superintendent replied in response to a query.