Fresh plea for Sarabjit Singh

While Sarabjit Singh on Wednesday slipped into “non-reversible” coma at a Lahore hospital, New Delhi on Wednesday again urged Pakistan to release the death row convict besides seeking he being transferred to a third country for better medical care.

While Sarabjit Singh on Wednesday slipped into “non-reversible” coma at a Lahore hospital, New Delhi on Wednesday again urged Pakistan to release the death row convict besides seeking he being transferred to a third country for better medical care. Pakistan had earlier rejected Indian plea to transfer him here for better treatment.

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Sarabjit, 49, had suffered critical head injuries in an unprovoked and sudden assault by four to five prisoners April 26. He has been on ventilator life support since. Sarabjit’s measurements on the Glasgow Coma Scale, which indicates the levels of consciousness and damage to a person’s central nervous system, had dropped to a “critical level”, sources said.

Singh’s family, who returned to the country after visiting him, accused India of not doing enough for the prisoner and demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

“Our High Commissioner has met the Pakistan foreign secretary and urged the Pakistan government to immediately release Sarabjit Singh on humanitarian grounds so that he can benefit from the best available treatment in India,” an external affairs ministry spokesperson said.

“The Indian envoy also proposed that Sarabjit Singh be sent to a third country for proper medical treatment,” the spokesperson said.