Indian fisherman, lodged in Pakistan's Karachi jail since 2022, dies by suicide: Report

Jail superintendent Arshad Husain, said 52-year-old Gaurav Ram Anand “hanged himself” with a rope in the bathroom of the prison barracks.

An Indian fisherman allegedly died by suicide at a prison in Karachi’s Malir area in Pakistan on Wednesday, reported Dawn.com

Harshraj Shankar, a native of Bihar’s Nalanda district, had been preparing for the medical entrance exam in a coaching institute here since April last year. (Pic used for representation)

The report claimed that Indian fishermen are often detained for illegal fishing, as some maritime boundaries are poorly marked, and many boats lack the technology to determine their exact location.

Quoting jail superintendent Arshad Husain, the report said 52-year-old Gaurav Ram Anand “hanged himself” with a rope in the bathroom of the prison barracks.

“In the barracks, all the Indian prisoners are confined,” Husain said. “He [the fisherman] went to the washroom on Tuesday night and ended his life,” the report added.

The jailer said the duty doctor examined the prisoner and declared him dead at 2:20am (2.50am IST). A magistrate then conducted an inquest and directed that the body be kept at the Edhi Foundation’s cold storage facility in Sohrab Goth until legal procedures and further orders were completed.

The deceased, arrested in February 2022 by Docks police, had been jailed in Malir by the West Karachi magistrate later that same month, the report said.

In February, 22 Indian fishermen who had been released from Malir jail on February 22 were handed over to Indian authorities at the Wagah Border.

They were freed after serving their sentences for unintentionally crossing into Pakistan's territorial waters, the report added.