LAHORE The Kot Lakhpat Jail authorities caught red-handed Assistant Superintendent Qazi Hussain handing over a jet USB and other portable drives to US spy Raymond Allen Davis on Wednesday, sources said.
Qazi Hussain was immediately suspended, pending an inquiry beginning in two days.
The movement of the jailer was observed by a deputy superintendent on CCTV. The accused was seen giving Raymond a new jet 560 USB flash drive, portable hard drives, disks, flash memory cards, card readers and other multimedia gadgets, one of the top jail officers revealed on condition of anonymity. Sources said the accused was on his way back from the (Davis) cell when the deputy superintendent intercepted him and asked about the articles he handed over to Davis.
During preliminary interrogations, Qazi said Assistant Superintendent Jail Naveed Aslam wanted him to pass on the gadgets to Davis. The deputy took up the matter with the senior jail superintendent who then brought the matter to the knowledge of higher authorities of the Prison Department, sources added.
Following special directives of IG Prison Kokab Nadeem Warraich, Superintendent Malik Mushtaq Ahmed suspended Qazi Hussain and directed him to report to the IG Prison in two days. A jail official said it seemed the CIA agent offered Qazi and Naveed visas of America for the favour. IG Kokab Nadeem has also directed the DIG Lahore Range to hold a regular inquiry against Qazi as apparently he is the main accused, the official added. He said that the shameful incident was being investigated from various angles. Jail Superintendent Mian Mushtaq Awan was unavailable to comment while his subordinate Mohammad Arshad flatly denied the incident.
Meanwhile, IG Kokab Nadeem Warraich also transferred Assistant Superintendent Jail Naveed Aslam to Chakwal with immediate effect.
On the other side, owing to life threats to Raymond Davis, the jail authorities have beefed up security further. In a fresh development, over 200 commandoes of the Elite Force, the Rangers and the Punjab Police have been deputed around the jail under the command of divisional SPs and three veteran DSPs, the jail official said.
He said about three Inspectors, 20 Sub-Inspectors and ASIs and 95 constables would discharge security duty in three shifts round the clock.
Furthermore, about 25 special commandoes of the Elite Force, 10 riding motorcycles, and other 20 senior police officers of the Model Town Division have also been deployed at key points of the jail.
The jail authorities, including DIG Mirza Shahid Saleem Baig, Superintendent Mian Mushtaq Awan and assistant superintendents held a special meeting on Wednesday to discuss security measures. We have got reports from unconfirmed sources regarding likely assassination of Raymond Davis in the jail, revealed a senior officer who attended the meeting.
