Tihar hightens security for Pakistani inmates

Fearing backlash in the wake of death of Sarabjit Singh after a murderous assault in a Lahore prison, Tihar authorities have stepped up security for all the 20 Pakistani inmates lodged in the high-security jail here.

"The jail staff has been directed to step up security for all the 20 Pakistani prisoners. They are being given enhanced protection," top sources told PTI.

They said the security has been improved in the wake of death of Sarabjit following a brutal attack in Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore.

The Pakistani prisoners include 12 convicts, six undertrials and two detenus and all them had been languishing in the jail for cases relating to terrorism and drug peddling.

Some of the terrorists lodged in Tihar are Mohammad Arif, who is a convict in the Red Fort attack case, and Khalid Mehmood.

49-year-old Sarabjit, who was brutally attacked in a high-security Lahore jail by fellow inmates on Friday, succumbed to his injuries early today.

Sarabjit had sustained severe injuries when at least six prisoners attacked him in a barrack at Kot Lakhpat Jail on Friday, hitting him on the head with bricks.

He was on death row after being convicted of alleged involvement in a string of bomb attacks in Pakistan's Punjab province that killed 14 people in 1990 and spent about 22 years in Pakistani prisons. Sarabjit's family has said his was a case of mistaken identity.