Indian prisoner dies in Pak jail

An Indian prisoner at Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail may have been tortured to death in a bid to teach him a lesson but authorities insist that the man died of natural causes, Imtiaz Ahmad reports.

An Indian prisoner at Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail may have been tortured to death in a bid to teach him a lesson but authorities insist that the man died of natural causes.

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In a bid to hush up the incident, the body of the prisoner has not been released and has been kept at a local mortuary, local media reported on Sunday. Fellow inmates are also being made to write affidavits that the man died of natural causes.

Chamail Singh, son of Salaar Singh, resident of Tehsil Akhnoor of Jammu, who was in jail on spying charges, is believed to have died after jail wardens tortured him in a bid to teach him a lesson for trying to disrupt their jail inspection, a report that appeared on the website of a local English language daily said.

Now Chamail’s body is being kept in a mortuary in Lahore as officials say attempts are being made to ascertain the cause of death. Local police have told the newspaper that they have received the body from the jail authorities but there is confusion surrounding what steps the government will take now.

The incident came to light when a fellow prisoner — Tehsin Khan— was released and he broke the news to local media channels and representatives.