The Indian Government is still awaiting the post-mortem examination report of Indian prisoner Kirpal Singh, who died under mysterious circumstances in a lahore jail, even as his family and political parties have claimed removal of his vital organs amounted to human rights violation.
Singh's body arrived in Amritsar on Tuesday with heart and stomach missing, which was discovered when the doctors at the Government Medical College Amritsar conducted a post-mortem. However, no internal and external injury was found on his body. Singh was cremated at his native place Mustafabad in Saida village on Wednesday.
With vital parts missing, the cause of death could not be ascertained in India, though Pak Government had claimed Singh had died of cardiac arrest. But a Punjab Government official said the autopsy report sent by Pakistan doesn't mention any cause of death.
However, India is still awaiting an official word on this from the Pakistani government before raising the issue at the diplomatic level. "We have so far not received any written opinion on the reported removal of his organs," said sources in Ministry of External Affairs.
While Congress leader Manish Tewari said India should take up the issue strongly at the United Nations, Pakistani legislator Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, PMl (N) too criticized this act saying if the news about removal of vital organs is true then it amount to human rights violation. "If it is done then it is very bad. It will not happen in future because our Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif wants good relations with India," Vankwani said.
The post-mortem in Amritsar was done on the request of Singh's family. This was the second autopsy conducted on his after one in Pakistan. "Prima-facie there is no foul play, but we can say something conclusively about his cause of death only after getting reports from Jinnah hospital and the viscera report," said Dr Ashok Chanana, Head of the team at the Amritsar Medical College.
However, Dr BS Bal, Principal of Government Medical College Amritsar, said that it was also found that Pakistan has not taken any sample from kidney and liver while conducting autopsy, which were essential to find out the exact cause of death.
Singh's last rites were performed by nephew, Ashwani Kumar, while Deputy Commissioner Pardeep Sabharwal and SSP Jagdip Singh Hundal placed the wreath on behalf of the government. Sabharwal assured the family members of Singh that relief will be provided to them as per government norms. Dalbir Kaur, sister of another Indian Sarabjit Singh, who too had died in a Pakistani jail in May 2013, was also present. The body was handed over to his family along with his belongings, which include his last letter to the family that he was unable to post. "I am not keeping well these days and you are not writing any letters to me. Please hire a good lawyer as soon as possible to secure my release. Are you people waiting to see my dead bodyIJ" read the letter, written in Gurmukhi.
Singh had allegedly crossed Wagah border into Pakistan in 1992 and was arrested on suspicion of spying. He was subsequently sentenced to death in a serial bomb blasts case in Pakistan's Punjab province.