Indian prisoner on death
row, Sarabjit Singh, was attacked by five of his fellow prisoners at Kot
Lakhpat Jail in Lahore on Friday, reported Express News.
According to initial details, the prisoners injured Sarabjit by hitting a brick on his head and hurling other items inside the jail over an argument. Further investigations into the incident are underway.
Sarabjit was shifted to a hospital, where doctors said he was in critical condition.
Express News correspondent Noman Sheikh reported that Sarabjit was being kept in a separate barrack but the incident took place during lunch time.
The prisoners who attacked were identified and sent to separate barracks for interrogation. Initial reports suggested that the five prisoners were also on death row.
The jail authorities have not given out any official statements to the media yet.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin told Press Trust of India (PTI) that the country has contacted Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Pakistan for consular access. “Two officers have been sent to Lahore for consular access and we are awaiting response. We are in touch with the Foreign Ministry and the Presidency,” he was quoted as saying.
The PTI report also quoted Sarabjit’s lawyer Owais Sheikh as saying that the incident will have “very very serious consequences”.
“Whatever has happened, our jail authorities are responsible for that. Hope God saves Sarabjit Singh. He has been seriously hurt,” he said.
Last year in September, Sarabjit wrote a letter to his sister and daughters saying that the authorities at Kot Lakhpat jail were slow-poisoning and mentally torturing him. Sarabjit had accused the jail officials of “conspiring to drive him insane” and ridiculing him when he asked them for painkillers.
According to the prosecution, Sarabjit had illegally crossed into Pakistan from Kasur on August 29, 1990.
He was arrested on charges of conducting four bomb blasts in Faisalabad, Multan and Lahore. He is named Manjeet Singh in the FIR. He was sentenced to death.
His counsel claimed it was a case of mistaken identity.
According to initial details, the prisoners injured Sarabjit by hitting a brick on his head and hurling other items inside the jail over an argument. Further investigations into the incident are underway.
Sarabjit was shifted to a hospital, where doctors said he was in critical condition.
Express News correspondent Noman Sheikh reported that Sarabjit was being kept in a separate barrack but the incident took place during lunch time.
The prisoners who attacked were identified and sent to separate barracks for interrogation. Initial reports suggested that the five prisoners were also on death row.
The jail authorities have not given out any official statements to the media yet.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin told Press Trust of India (PTI) that the country has contacted Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Pakistan for consular access. “Two officers have been sent to Lahore for consular access and we are awaiting response. We are in touch with the Foreign Ministry and the Presidency,” he was quoted as saying.
The PTI report also quoted Sarabjit’s lawyer Owais Sheikh as saying that the incident will have “very very serious consequences”.
“Whatever has happened, our jail authorities are responsible for that. Hope God saves Sarabjit Singh. He has been seriously hurt,” he said.
Last year in September, Sarabjit wrote a letter to his sister and daughters saying that the authorities at Kot Lakhpat jail were slow-poisoning and mentally torturing him. Sarabjit had accused the jail officials of “conspiring to drive him insane” and ridiculing him when he asked them for painkillers.
According to the prosecution, Sarabjit had illegally crossed into Pakistan from Kasur on August 29, 1990.
He was arrested on charges of conducting four bomb blasts in Faisalabad, Multan and Lahore. He is named Manjeet Singh in the FIR. He was sentenced to death.
His counsel claimed it was a case of mistaken identity.
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