Gurdaspur (Punjab): The mortal remains of Kirpal Singh, the Indian prisoner who died in a Pakistan’s Kot Lakhpat Jail on April 11 under mysterious circumstances, was brought to his hometown in Mustafabad on Wednesday for last rites. His family members mourned as his body was brought to his hometown in a black coffin.
His body was handed over to the Indian officials at the Wagah Border yesterday. The mystery over his death, however, continues as the post-mortem conducted at Amritsar Medical College could not arrive at a conclusion over the cause of this death.
The autopsy, which was conducted by a team of three doctors, says there were no external or internal injury marks on the body. However, the heart and stomach were missing as they had been taken out during the first autopsy conducted at Jinnah Hospital in Lahore. Doctors have preserved the viscera and sent it for lab tests to rule out poisoning.
Pakistani officials claimed that he died of a heart attack but Indian authorities suspect that he was murdered. India has also vowed to raise Kirpal’s death in Pakistan at the top level. Kirpal’s family has alleged murder and has demanded the post-mortem report be presented to them.
In 1991, Kirpal Singh was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Pakistani authorities for allegedly spying and conducting terrorist activities in Pakistan. Pakistan also alleged that he was involved in a bombing at Faisalabad Railway Station in 1991.
As per reports from Pakistan, Kirpal Singh was transferred to a hospital as his health deteriorated, after which he succumbed to a heart attack. The death of Kirpal Singh has been compared with the unfortunate and tragic death of Sarabjit Singh, who was sentenced to death in 1991.
While in the same prison as Kirpal Singh, he was attacked by a few of his inmates, six days after which he died in a Pakistani hospital.
