Kirpal Singh (50), a suspected spy, had been languishing in a Pakistani jail for nearly 25 years.
The Central government said it will ensure early transfer of mortal remains of Indian prisoner Kirpal Singh, who died under mysterious circumstances in a Pakistani jail. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swaroop said the acting high commissioner in Islamabad was seeking a meeting with the Pakistan foreign office officials to facilitate the transfer as well as to ascertain the cause of death.
Kirpal Singh (50), a suspected spy, had been languishing in a Pakistani jail for nearly 25 years. He was found dead in his cell last Monday under mysterious circumstances. He had allegedly crossed the Wagah border into Pakistan in 1992 and was arrested. He was subsequently sentenced to death in a serial bomb blasts case in Pakistan's Punjab province. It was also reported that after the death of another prisoner Sarabjit Singh in April 2013, Kirpal was put in a separate cell.
Kirpal's sister Jagir Kaur, a resident of Gurdaspur, who has sought a meeting with external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, said her brother had written letters to the family, wherein he had expressed apprehension about his life and his wish to return to India. Though Pakistani officials have said that Kirpal died a natural death, his family has alleged foul play.
Kaur said they received the last letter in February, wherein Kirpal again stated his desire to return. "I want to return to my motherland before I die… I have been facing a difficult time here," he said in his letter. Kaur, who is awaiting the arrival of Kirpal's remains, said his health had deteriorated and he had been pleading his family to take up the issue before the government.
"Kirpal Singh was found dead in his cell in the early hours of Monday," said an official of Kot Lakhpat Jail, according to Pakistani media reports from Lahore. "The inmates of the cell near Kirpal's cell stated that he complained of pain in his chest and died instantly," the report added.
According to his family, Kirpal worked with the Army but left in early 90s. Thereafter, he made two trips to Pakistan, before he was caught in 1992. His family came to know of his imprisonment in 1994.
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