Abdullah apologizes to Sanaullah's family

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Thursday offered his "sincere apology" to the family of Sanaullah who died in a Chandigarh hospital six days after being attacked in a Jammu jail.

"Although it's scant consolation, I'd like to offer a sincere apology to the family..." Abdullah tweeted.

The chief minister regretted that such a thing should have happened at all, but assured that those responsible for dereliction of duty in this incident would not go unpunished.

"While the inquiry will fix responsibility for any dereliction of duty, the fact that this (happened) at all is a matter of great regret", he said in another post.

Abdullah thanked doctors at the Government Medical College Hospital in Jammu and at PGIMER in Chandigarh for the efforts they made to save Sanaullah's life.

The state government has suspended the jail superintendent of the high security Kot Bhalwal jail where Sanaullah was serving a life term after being convicted by a court.

Vinod Kumar, a former Indian soldier who fatally attacked Sanaullah with a hoe, belongs to Uttrankhand and is being tried for murder.