Lahore, Apr. 1 (ANI): The Punjab Prisons Department has termed the controversy surrounding the death of Indian prisoner Chamel Singh in Central Jail as "malicious propaganda".
Singh was arrested on charges of espionage in 2008, and was sentenced to serve five years in prison in Pakistan in August 2010. He died on January 15, 2013.
Mohsin Rafiq Ch, Senior Superintendent Central of Kot Lakhpat jail, said that some Indian newspapers had published "concocted news" with "ulterior motives" claiming that convict Singh was tortured to death, reports The Express Tribune.
Rafiq maintained that Singh suffered a stroke while working in the compound of barrack number four, and was immediately rushed to the nearby Jinnah Hospital for medical treatment. Unfortunately he succumbed to a heart attack while on the way to the hospital, he added.
Rafiq also stated that a comprehensive postmortem report revealed "Singh died naturally and no mark of violence was found on the body".
Rafiq's comments were in contradiction to earlier reports of the initial autopsy, which revealed that Singh had been tortured.
According to the initial report, traces of four injuries were found on Singh's body including a fracture in the right knee, an abrasion on the left knee joint, an abrasion over his upper lip and scars on his thigh.
The autopsy was conducted by a medical board from Mian Muhammad Munshi Hospital at Jinnah Hospital Lahore, about two months after Singh's death.
A doctor who had earlier treated Singh at the Jinnah Hospital said Singh was dead on arrival and that his body bore signs of torture.
Additionally, an inmate who was released from the same prison, was allegedly witness to Singh being beaten to death by prison staff for washing clothes in the prison courtyard.
Awais Sheikh, counsel for Indian prisoners in Pakistan, said he holds both the Punjab home department and the Interior ministry responsible for Singh's death, alongside jail officials. (ANI)
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