Lahore: Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh lodged in the Kot Lakhpat Jail here, was brutally assaulted  by Pakistani prisoners  and has been admitted to the State run Jinnah Hospital on April 26, Friday evening with severe head injuries.

According to sources, he was attacked by at least four under trials during an hour long break.  According to officials  the main suspect in the brutal attack had picked up a quarrel with Sarabjit Singh a few days ago, but the reason for the same is yet to be ascertained. It is learnt, the jail authorities had failed to take the  quarrel seriously/.

The main suspect in the attack is death row prisoner Amer Aftab who was lodged in one of the most secure sections of the prison. It is learnt they evaded guards and attacked Sarabjit after snatching the  keys from the jail wardens after overpowering them.

Sarabjit was hit on the head with bricks and his face, neck and stomach were cut with blades and sharp pieces of a ghee tin. However, some sources say only two prisoners were involved in the attack. Some other sources say at least six persons were involved in the attack.

Malik Mubashir, Deputy Superintendent of Prisons in Punjab province, was appointed to head the inquiry into the attack.Authorities had tightened Sarabjit’s security after the recent execution in India of Afzal Guru, who was convicted of involvement in the 2001 terror attack on the Indian parliament.Sarabjit was convicted for alleged involvement in a string of bomb attacks in Punjab province that killed 14 people in 1990.His mercy petitions were rejected by the courts and former President Pervez Musharraf.  Sarabjit’s family says he is the victim of mistaken identity and had inadvertently strayed across the border in an inebriated state.