Indian dies of tuberculosis in Pak jail: authorities

M Zulqernain
Lahore, Oct 29 (PTI) An Indian national being held in a
jail here has died of tuberculosis, Pakistan authorities said
Thursday after leading human rights activist Ansar Burney
claimed the death had occured in "suspicious" circumstances.

Mushtaq Awan, the Superintendent of Kot Lakhpat jail,
said 27-year-old Indian national Suraj Singh was mentally
deranged and had died Wednesday of tuberculosis.
Singh, a resident of Jaipur, was arrested a year ago
when he illegally entered Pakistan in the Wagah sector of the
border, he said.
Singh was being treated on a regular basis at the
Services Hospital in Lahore.
"Singh was taken to the Services Hospital when his
condition started deteriorating last night but he could not
survive," Awan told PTI.
An autopsy of Singh's body had confirmed that the cause
of his death was tuberculosis, Awan said.
The body was sent to a morgue after the autopsy and
would remain there till the Indian government gave the green
single for it to be repatriated, he added.
Earlier, human rights activist Burney said Singh had
died in "suspicious" circumstances.
He demanded that authorities conduct an independent and
impartial inquiry into the death. (MORE) PTI MZ
AM


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