Kin want Kirpal's body to be brought back from Pakistan

The family members of Kirpal Singh, the Indian prisoner who died in a Lahore jail, has demanded that his body be brought back to the country and also called upon the Centre to declare him a “martyr” like Sarabjit Singh. Kirpal was imprisoned in the Lahore jail for 24 years after being accused of playing a part in a bomb attack at the Faisalabad railway station.

His kin have, however, claimed that he was innocent and had inadvertently slipped into Pakistani territory under the influence of liquor in February, 1992.

Kirpal was a native of Mustfabad Saida village, which is close to the Indo-Pakistan border.

His family also said they suspect that there was foul play leading to his death. In 2013, Indian death row prisoner Sarabjit Singh died after being attacked by fellow prisoners at Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore.

Kirpal’s family members said they are planning to meet Dr Raj Kumar, vice-chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, and Dalbir Kaur, sister of Sarabjit Singh, as part of their efforts to ensure that his body is brought back to India from Pakistan for the last rites.

Kirpal, 50, was found dead in his cell at Kot Lakhpat Jail in the wee hours of Monday.