Send Sarabjit to India on humanitarian grounds: Minister

Chandigarh: Punjab minister Adaish Partap Singh Kairon on Monday requested Pakistan to hand over death row convict Sarabjit Singh, lying in coma in a Lahore hospital, to India on humanitarian grounds as prayers were held in several parts of the state for his speedy recovery.

Kairon, who is the Food and Civil supplies minister, said Sarabjit was battling for life and Pakistan should send him to India immediately for treatment on humanitarian grounds. He said such a step would help in strengthening bilateral ties. The minister also requested the Union government to take all possible steps to bring Sarabjit back to India for proper treatment. Kairon asked Pakistan to release all Indian prisoners, who had completed their tenure, as a goodwill gesture. Inhabitants of Bhikiwind village in Tarn Taran district, the native place of Sarabjit, held prayers for his speedy recovery. Prayers were also held at the Golden Temple, the most revered Sikh shrine, for Sarabjit. Reports of people holding prayers and seeking Centre`s intervention on the matter also poured in from Hoshiarpur, Phagwara, Mohali, Gurdaspur and Sangrur. Sarabjit suffered grievous injuries, including skull fracture, when six fellow prisoners attacked him in Lahore`s Kot Lakhpat Jail on Friday. He is in deep coma and on ventilator support in Jinnah Hospital. PTI