The body of Kirpal Singh, who was imprisoned in Pakistan for 24 years, was handed over to India on Tuesday.
Highlights
- Kirpal Singh was sentenced to death by Pakistan for spying, terrorism
- Pakistan says he died of a heart attack in a Lahore jail last week
- Vital organs removed for forensic tests; family wants autopsy done here
Pakistan has handed over the body of prisoner Kirpal Singh to India, but his vital organs, including the heart, stomach and liver, have been removed for forensic tests. The tests are being carried out at Lahore's Jinnah Hospital.
50-year-old Kirpal Singh, sentenced to death by Pakistani courts for spying and terrorism, died in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail last week. Pakistan authorities said he had suffered a heart attack.
A postmortem examination conducted at the Amritsar Medical College has been unable to arrive at a conclusion about the cause of his death. Doctors who conducted the postmortem said the body had no external or internal injuries.
"Prima-facie there is no foul play, but we can say something conclusively about his cause of death only after getting reports from Jinnah hospital and the viscera report," said Dr Ashok Chanana, Head of the team at the Amritsar Medical College.
Kirpal Singh had been in jail for 25 years -- his cell was next to that of Sarabjeet Singh, who was convicted for a series of bombings in Pakistan's Punjab province and was killed in 2013 by other prisoners.
Kirpal Singh's family says they don't trust any autopsy by Pakistan. "Postmortem in India will bring out the truth about his death," said his nephew Ashwini Kumar.
New Delhi had asked its envoy to take up the death of Kirpal Singh "at the highest level".
Confirming that a second postmortem has been done on the "request of his family" sources in the foreign ministry said, "We have so far not received any written opinion on the reported removal of heart and liver".
Kirpal Singh was caught by Pakistani Rangers from near India-Pakistan border in 1992. He was allegedly involved in a bombing at the Faisalabad railway station and was sentenced to death by the Pakistani courts.
His last rites were be performed today at his hometown Gurdaspur. Kirpal Singh's body was handed over to his family yesterday along with his belongings, which include his last letter to the family that he was unable to post.
We only trust postmortem done in India, said Kirpal Singh's nephew Ashwini Kumar.
"I am not keeping well these days and you are not writing any letters to me," read the letter, written in Gurmukhi. "Please hire a good lawyer as soon as possible to secure my release. Are you people waiting to see my dead body?"
Dalbir Kaur, the sister of Sarabjeet Singh, said she was worried about safety of other Indian prisoners in Pakistani jails.
"I have written to the government of India about 74 Indian prisoners in Pakistani jails. They are under threat, especially two prisoners, Kuldeep Kumar form Ahmedabad and Ansari from Maharashtra. They are in danger," Dalbir Kaur told NDTV.