Indian death row prisoner Sarabjit Singh, who was admitted to a
Lahore hospital after being savagely attacked in jail, died Thursday, a media
report said.
Sarabjit Singh died in Lahore's Jinnah Hospital, reported Geo News.
The head of the medical panel of the hospital was quoted as
saying that Sarabjit succumbed to injuries at 12.45 a.m. (Pakistan time) or
(1.15 a.m. Indian standard time)
Sarabjit's lawyer Awais Shiekh told an Indian news channel that
Sarabjit's death was confirmed by hospital authorities.
Sarabjit had suffered serious head injuries after being attacked
by two prisoners at Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail April 26. He was on ventilator
support since then.
"It is very sad. We are sorry that we could not save him. I had
tried to stop his family from going back to India (Wednesday) since his
condition was very bad but they went bac"," Shiekh told the channel.
The post-mortem will be conducted Thursday morning, he said.
Sarabj't's family, including sister Dalbir Kaur, wife Sukhpreet
and daughters Swapandeep and Poonam, had gone to Lahore Sunday. They returned to
India Wednesday morning alleging that they were not being given information on
his medical status.
"We are shattered. He has been sacrificed," his family said.
"We" have heard this sad news. We tried our best to save him," "Raj
Kumar Verka, vice chairman of the National Commission of Scheduled Castes, who
was helping the family, said in New Delhi.
On Wednesday night, the Indian external affairs ministry said
that his condition was "serious and critical".
A late night tweet posted by Indian external affairs ministry
spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said: "Sarabjit Singh's medical situation remains
'serious and critical' as per update provided to Indian officials in Lahore at
10 pm local time."
Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Sharat Sabharwal met
Pakistan Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani as India Wednesday asked Pakistan
to release him on "humanitarian and sympathetic grounds" or to send him to a
third country for "proper treatment".
Earlier Wednesday, Pakistan acceded to Indian request for daily
consular access to Sarabjit Singh, 49, who had suffered critical head injuries
after unprovoked and sudden assault by four to five prisoners April 26 in the
Kot Lakhpat jail.
He had been on ventilator life support since. Doctors had
reportedly indicated that he was "clinically dead".
Source : IANS
