Thursday, 2 May 2013

Pakistani prisoner in coma after being attacked in Jammu jail / And in Amritsar, disgraceful politics on display

JammuA prisoner from Pakistan who was in a jail in Jammu is in a coma after he was hit on the head with a hammer by another inmate. He is being moved to a hospital in Chandigarh. The Pakistani was serving a life sentence for terrorist activities and was jailed in 1999. His attacker was allegedly a murder convict from Uttarakhand.  The Jammu and Kashmir government has ordered an inquiry and the jail superintendent has been suspended. The violence comes on a day when Sarabjit Singh, the Indian death row convict who died after a fatal assault by a group of men in a Lahore jail, is being cremated in his village in Punjab.  His body was brought home on a special plane yesterday. (State funeral for Sarabjit Singh at his village today)

Worried about retaliatory attacks in India, the Home Ministry last evening had asked all states to increase the security for nearly 200 Pakistani prisoners who are in jail across the country.  Sarabjit Singh's attack and death in Lahore have caused the latest flare-up of tension between Pakistan and India with Dr Manmohan Singh stating, "The criminals responsible for the barbaric and murderous attack on him must be brought to justice."

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/pakistani-prisoner-attacked-in-jammu-jail-rushed-to-hospital-362156?pfrom=home-lateststories

As Sarabjit Singh's body arrives in Amritsar, disgraceful politics on display
AmritsarAcross the country on Thursday evening, candle-light gatherings were held in memory of Sarabjit Singh, whose body was flown home on a special plane from Lahore, where he died in hospital six days after he was brutally attacked in prison. But politicians in India were unable to prevent themselves from trying to leverage the tragedy. When the Centre declared that Preneet Kaur, the Junior Minister for External Affairs, would be at the side of Mr Singh's family when his body arrived in Amritsar, the ruling Shiromani  Akali Dal (SAD) party in Punjab swung into action.  Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal reached the airport accompanied by other senior Akali leaders. And then there was a reprehensible spat over who would travel with the body in a helicopter to Mr Singh's village of Bhikhiwind. 
 
The state administration had not included any Congress leaders other than Parneet Kaur on the list of passengers allowed on the helicopter.  Sources say that the state government had deliberately made a last-minute change to the terminal from which the helicopter would depart to prevent Congress representatives from making the journey. For over an hour, while the plane from Lahore was awaited, the Congress and Akali politicians slugged it out. Finally, the Congress ensured that six of its members were included on the passenger list along with two Akali Dal leaders. Sarabjit's family members left for Bhikhiwind in another chopper earlier.
 
The state government has also announced that it will give Rs. one crore in compensation to Mr Singh's family. The centre had committed to 25 lakhs. On Friday, Mr Singh, who spent over two decades on death row after being convicted for terror attacks in Pakistan, will be given a state funeral.  The Punjab government has said he is a "national martyr who suffered unspeakable repression and torture with dignity."

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/as-sarabjit-singh-s-body-arrives-in-amritsar-disgraceful-politics-on-display-362018?pfrom=home-lateststories

No comments:

Post a Comment