Randeep Hooda keeps his promise to Dalbir Kaur, performs her last rites

Bollywood actor Randeep Hooda gave shoulder to Dalbir’s bier and also lit her pyre as per her wish on Sunday. Dalbir, 67, passed away after she complained of severe chest pain on Saturday night.

Fulfilling the wish of Sarabjit Singh’s sister Dalbir Kaur, Bollywood actor Randeep Hooda, who essayed the role of her brother in his biopic ‘Sarabjit’, performed her last rites at her native Bhikhiwind village in Tarn Taran district.

Bollywood actor Randeep Hooda attends the funeral of Dalbir Kaur, sister of Sarabjit Singh who died in Pakistan jail, at her native village, in Bhikhiwind near Amritsar on Sunday. Randeep Hooda has acted in the role of Sarabjit Singh in the Bollywood movie titled 'Sarbjit.' Dalbir Kaur hit the headlines when she led a vociferous campaign for the release of her brother from the Pakistan jail. (ANI)

Hooda gave shoulder to Dalbir’s bier and also lit her pyre as per her wish on Sunday. Dalbir, 67, passed away after she complained of severe chest pain on Saturday night.

“We had plans to meet up. It’s sad she passed away. May her soul rest in peace,” Hooda, who immediately left from Mumbai after hearing about her death, said.

He added that Dalbir was like a family member to him and that he would continue to offer support to her kin. Poonam Kaur, the daughter of Sarabjit, said, “Randeep reached here around 4:30pm and my aunt was cremated around 5pm on Sunday.”

“My aunt was very close to him. It was her wish that he performs her last rites. Randeep had been fulfilling all the duties of a brother for my aunt,” she added.

Dalbir’s relentless fight

for her brother’s release

Sarabjit Singh had mistakenly crossed over to Pakistan and was convicted of terrorism and spying, and sentenced to death by a Pakistan court in 1991. The Pakistan government had, however, stayed his execution for an indefinite period in 2008. Sarabjit died following an attack on him in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail by fellow inmates in April 2013. Dalbir Kaur, who relentlessly fought for several years to prove her brother’s innocence, visited the Kot Lakhpat jail twice with Sarabjit’s two daughters and wife to enquire about his health.

In his biopic released in 2016, Randeep had essayed the role of Sarabjit Singh and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan had played Dalbir.

At an event to mark Sarabjit’s third death anniversary, Dalbir had said, “I see my brother in Randeep. In the film, he is not just a hero, but also my brother. I have a wish and I would like a promise from him that when I die, he should give me ‘kandha’ (shoulder). My soul will be at peace if Sarabjit gave me ‘kandha’.”