–Inmates Amir Tanba and Mudasir murdered Sarabjit Singh inside Kot Lakhpat jail in 2013
LAHORE: A session court in Lahore on Saturday acquitted two accused in the murder case of Indian spy Sarabjit Singh.
Additional session judge Moeen Khokhar announced the verdict after all the witnesses retracted from their testimonies.
Singh had illegally crossed into Pakistan on Aug 29, 1990. He was arrested on charges of carrying out four bombings in Faisalabad, Multan and Lahore which killed 14 Pakistani citizens.
A convicted Indian spy on death row, Singh was attacked on April 26, 2013 by two inmates Amir Tanba and Mudasir in Kot Lakhpat Jail when he came out for lunch from his special barrack.
Singh suffered severe injuries in the head when the prisoners assaulted him with bricks and other blunt weapons. He was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Lahore’s Jinnah Hospital where a medical board comprising senior neurosurgeons treated him.
He died on May 2, 2013, after lying in a comatose state for five days.
A district and sessions court in Lahore on Saturday acquitted two suspects accused of killing Indian spy Sarabjit Singh inside Kot Lakhpat jail in April 2013, a local media outlet reported.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Moin Khokar issued directives to release Amir Tanba and Mudasir Munir from custody after all witnesses retracted their statements. The suspects were fellow prisoners of Singh and had allegedly tortured him to death.
Singh had suffered severe injuries in the head after being assaulted with bricks and other blunt weapons following which he was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Lahore’s Jinnah Hospital. After lying in a comatose state for five days, Singh was pronounced dead by a medical board comprising senior neurosurgeons.
Lahore police had registered a case at Kot Lakhpat police station under Section 324/34 (planned attempted murder in group) under the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of then superintendent Kot Lakhpat jail, Waqar Sumra.
The Indian foreign ministry has asked Pakistan to conduct a probe into the assault on the 49-year-old. Singh’s sister Dalbir Kaur had demanded that Pakistan should hold an inquiry as to how Sarabjit’s security was compromised and he was subsequently attacked with bricks and iron rods.
“If the attack was planned by the government itself, then there is no need for an inquiry. But if Sarabjit was attacked without the knowledge of the authorities, then an inquiry is definitely needed,” she had said.
