Pakistan rejects reports of assault on Indian prisoner

Pakistani authroities rejected reports that Indian prisoner Chamel Singh had died after allegedly being assaulted by jail staff here, saying his death was caused by a sudden stroke and heart attack.

Mohsin Rafiq Chaudhry, Senior Superintendent of Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore, claimed a few Indian newspapers had published “concocted news with ulterior motives” about Singh being tortured to death. He also described the reports of Singh’s death after allegedly being assaulted as “malicious Indian propaganda”.

Singh, said to be in his sixties, was declared dead on arrival by doctors at the state-run Jinnah Hospital on January 15. He was serving a five-year prison term for his alleged involvement in espionage. Despite Chaudhry’s claim, even Pakistani newspapers like The Express Tribune had reported that marks of injury had been found on Singh’s body during an autopsy on March 13.