Lahore: Sarabjit Singh, who died today after being comatose for nearly a week following a brutal assault by fellow inmates, became the second Indian prisoner this year to die in Pakistan's notorious Kot Lakhpat jail.
Sarabjit, 49, who was serving a death sentence, was brutally attacked on Friday by six fellow inmates as he and other prisoners were brought out of their cells for a break.
He was hit on the head with bricks and was comatose in hospital till his death at the state-run Jinnah Hospital in Lahore.
There have been instances in the past of prisoners being killed within the high-security Kot Lakhpat jail.
In January, another Indian prisoner Chamel Singh had died in the same jail under suspicious circumstances.
Chamel, said to be in his sixties, was declared dead on arrival by doctors at the same state-run hospital where Sarabjit died. He was serving a five-year prison term for alleged involvement in espionage.
Pakistani media at that time reported that the preliminary post-mortem report indicated torture inflicted on Chamel, a charge denied by the jail authorities.
The Kot Lakhpat jail houses more than four times the 4,000 prisoner capacity it was built for. Currently it has about 17,000 prisoners out of which at least 36 are Indian nationals.
The Indian prisoners were last week interviewed by Indian members of an Indo-Pak judicial committee during a visit.
Some prisoners complained that they were provided "virtually no security" before the attack on Sarabjit.
According to reports, the prisoners said that after the attack on Sarabjit, the jail staff have become active and does not allow other inmates to get close to them during breaks.
The committee earlier visited Karachi and Rawalpindi and met Indian prisoners being held in jails in those cities.
Sarabjit, 49, who was serving a death sentence, was brutally attacked on Friday by six fellow inmates as he and other prisoners were brought out of their cells for a break.
He was hit on the head with bricks and was comatose in hospital till his death at the state-run Jinnah Hospital in Lahore.
In January, another Indian prisoner Chamel Singh had died in the same jail under suspicious circumstances.
Advertisement
Pakistani media at that time reported that the preliminary post-mortem report indicated torture inflicted on Chamel, a charge denied by the jail authorities.
Advertisement
The Indian prisoners were last week interviewed by Indian members of an Indo-Pak judicial committee during a visit.
Advertisement
According to reports, the prisoners said that after the attack on Sarabjit, the jail staff have become active and does not allow other inmates to get close to them during breaks.
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Son Of Indira Gandhi's Assassin Set To Win Punjab Lok Sabha Seat Randeep Hooda's "Karma" Remark After Sarabjit Singh's Killer Gunned Down Sarabjit Singh: He Spent 22 Years In Pak Jail, Then Inmates Killed Him World's Largest Isolated Tribe Makes Rare Appearance In New Footage Barack Obama Wants Joe Biden To Pull Out Of US Presidential Race: Report 32 Dead In Bangladesh Unrest, Protesters Set Fire To State TV Headquarters NEET PG 2024: Test Cities Out For Postgraduate Medical Entrance Exam After 53 Years, Mortar Shells From 1971 Indo-Pak War Found In Fish Pond "Humanitarian Crisis Due To Israel-Hamas Conflict Concerning": India At UN Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.