Sarabjit Given a Martyr's Send-off

After autopsy, doctors say his vital organs were missing

Bhikiwind (Agencies): Sarabjit Singh, the Indian prisoner who died after a murderous attack in a Lahore jail, was on Friday cremated with full state honours of a martyr as tens of thousands of people joined in to bid him a tearful farewell.

Sarabjit's sister Dalbir Kaur lit the pyre as thousands of people gathered to pay their last respects to the man, condemned as a terrorist in Pakistan and considered a martyr in India.A Sarabjit died on Thursday in Jinnah Hospital in Lahore, six days after being attacked by fellow prisoners in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail on April 26.

In Amritsar, a medical board of Indian doctors who conducted the second post-mortem on his body said that Sarabjit was assaulted "with the motive to kill". They said that he had been attacked with heavy blunt objects and had "massive head injuries". This belied the claim of Pakistani authorities that he was fatally injured in a "scuffle" with prisoners.

"The main motive was to kill the person. The face of the skull was completely smashed. Rather it was in two pieces. He died from massive head injuries," Gurjit Singh Mann, head of a medical panel of the Amritsar Medical College which conducted the second post-mortem examination after Sarabjit's body arrived in India, told media here.

Among other organs, which were missing included the heart, gall bladder and kidneys, besides five ribs were fractured. "The brain area was having a severe injury. The brain was missing and the injuries were caused by heavy blunt weapons," the doctor said.

Before the mortal remains of Sarabjit were consigned to flames, teary-eyed people - men, women, old and young, children and VIPs - were part of the last journey of a man who went through torture and despair for 23 years in Pakistani prisons, trying to prove that he was innocent.

A contingent of Punjab Police reversed arms and fired thrice in the air as a mark of respect to the 49-year-old who is said to have mistakenly crossed into Pakistan in 1990.

As Dalbir Kaur went around the coffin to pour water from an earthen pot, his family members, including wife Sukhpreet and daughters Swapandeep and Poonam, sobbed uncontrollably.A The virtual sea of humanity that thronged his funeral here shouted slogans against Pakistan and its leaders.

The cremation ground proved too small even to accommodate the VIPs, media and family members.A Among those who placed wreaths on Sarabjit's coffin were Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur, Akal Takht chief Gurbachan Singh and Punjab's Cabinet ministers.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who had met Dalbir Kaur in New Delhi on Thursday, walked up to the cremation ground and placed a wreath on the coffin. A The body, draped in the tricolour, was first kept in his house and later taken to a ground of the government school nearby so that people could pay their homage.

The Punjab government has announced a three-day state mourning. Shops and other establishments, including educational institutions in this town, remained closed on Friday. They were shut on Thursday too. ,Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has announced a financial grant of Rs 1 crore for Sarabjit's family. He said Punjab would give government jobs to both his daughters.

Rahul pays rich tributes

Bikhiwind (PTI): Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Friday paid rich tributes to Sarabjit Singh, who died at a Pakistani hospital following a brutal attack, here at his cremation in native village. A Rahul stayed with the aggrieved family for about half an hour and offered condolences to Dalbir Kaur, sister of Sarabjit Singh, party sources said.

The Congress leader assured full support to the family, they added. State Congress chief Pratap Singh Bajwa, who was also present on the occasion, said that martyrdom of Sarabjit would not go waste. A He said that demise of Sarabjit Singh had jolted the whole nation. A Consoling Sarabjit's sister, wife and daughters, Bajwa said that Pakistan had violated human rights.

Others who attended the last rites of Sarabjit included , member working committee, AICC, Gulchain Singh Charak, secretary in-charge Punjab, Harish Chaudhary, Union minister of state for External Affairs Preneet Kaur, MP Vijayinder Singla, vice president, PPCC, O P Soni and vice-chairman, SC commission, Raj Kumar Verka.

Sheila demands probeA

Bangalore (PTI): Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Friday said an inquiry should be initiated into the Sarabjit Singh's death in a Pakistani hospital to allay angry feelings of Indian citizens.

India's good relations with Pakistan has been shaken following Sarabjit's death, Dikshit told reporters, adding "The Pakistan government has not done a good thing which has enraged people at large."

Sarabjit died of cardiac arrest in a Lahore hospital on Thursday after being comatose for nearly a week following a brutal assault by fellow inmates in a high-security jail.

She said if some people are dissatisfied with acquittal of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in anti-Sikh riots case, they should approach the higher court and not politicise the issue.A The protests against Sajjan Kumar's acquittal is politically motivated as BJP and Akalis are supporting it without showing any respect for a court verdict, Dikshit said.

Bestow Chamel with title of martyr: family Jammu (PTI): On a day when Sarabjit Singh was cremated with full state honours at his ancestral village in Punjab, family members of Chamel Singh said he should also be bestowed with the title of a martyr.

"Sarabjit Singh was killed in the same jail where our father was murdered. The same persons who killed Sarabjit were involved in the killing of my father," alleged Chamel Singh's son, Deepak. "We appeal to the Centre that our father should also be accorded the title of a martyr," Deepak said.

Chamel Singh, who hailed from a border village of Pargwal in Akhnoor of Jammu, was beaten to death in Pakistan's Kot Lakhpat jail on January 15 this year and his body was brought back here on March 13.

"We are four brothers and are forced to quit education and work for our survival. We appeal to the government to help our family in the same way as Sarabjit's family has been done. Both Centre and state government should think about us," he said.

Punjab Assembly declares Sarabjit as national martyr

Chandigarh (PTI): In a special session, the Punjab Assembly on Friday unanimously passed a resolution declaring Sarabjit Singh as national martyr and sought an impartial investigation by an international agency into his "merciless" attack in a Pakistani jail.

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal moved the resolution which appealed to the Centre to build up international pressure on Pakistan to ascertain the causes of the brutal attack on Sarabjit in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat Jail.

Paying rich tribute to 49-year-old Sarabjit, the resolution also asked the Centre to "initiate strong and effective diplomatic efforts" to ensure the safety of prisoners belonging to India and those of Indian-origin lodged in prisons of Pakistan and other countries.

Legislators cutting across party lines unanimously passed the resolution moved by the Chief Minister in the House.A The House also observed a two-minute silence as a mark of respect for the departed soul. Punjab Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal then adjourned the House till 10:30 AM.

Earlier, the Assembly also passed obituary references to the passing away of ex-MP Rajya Sabha Surjit Singh Atwal, ex-minister Romesh Chander Dogra and legendary singer Shamshad Begum.