Body of Indian prisoner Chamel Singh consigned to flames

Jammu: The body of Chamel Singh, an Indian national who was allegedly beaten to death in a Pakistan jail, was consigned to flames at his native village in Jammu today.

Singh was thrashed by the jail wardens in Pakistan’s Kot Lakhpat jail, leading to his death on 15 January.

The last rites of Singh were performed at 4 pm in presence of his family members, relatives and locals, SDPO Akhnoor, Rayeef Mohammad Bhat told PTI.

Bhat added that the officials from the district administration, including Superintendent of Police (SP) Rural, were also present on the occasion.

The body of Singh was handed over by the Pakistani authorities at Wagah border on 13 March at around 2 pm and was brought by road to Jammu.

Chamel Singh, who was about to complete a five-year prison term for alleged involvement in espionage, died in Lahore, with reports saying that he was “mercilessly beaten” by Pakistani prison staff before his death.

Media reports quoted a Pakistani lawyer named Tehseen Khan, who was recently released from Kot Lakhpat jail, as saying that he had seen prison staff assaulting Chamel Singh for using water from a tap to wash clothes on 15 January and that he died two days later at Jinnah Hospital in Lahore.

However, officials of the Indian High Commission said that they had been formally informed by Pakistani authorities that Singh had died in Lahore on 15 January.

PTI