Pakistan returns Sarabjit Singh's personal belongings

India's mission in Islamabad Monday received 36 items belonging to Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh who died in May after a brutal attack by his inmates in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail.

The items returned included three holy books in Hindi, a rosary, five sets of clothes, a sleeping mattress, a pitcher, a blanket and shoes. The ministry of external affairs spokesperson, Syed Akbaruddin, tweeted that "India's Mission in Islamabad receives 36 items belonging to late Sarabjit Singh. Will make arrangements to send it to family members."

Sarabjit was in jail for over 20 years in Pakistan. He had been convicted of terrorism charges. After his death in May, his sister Dalbir Kaur demanded that the Pakistan government should return his belongings and clothes and a personal diary, which she wanted to preserve as his memory. He died after inmates assaulted him with bricks in Lahore central jail in April. His family maintained he had inadvertently strayed across the border in an inebriated state.