Daily Times

Sir: It is extremely sad to hear of the demise of Indian death row prisoner Sarabjit Singh who was viciously attacked by fellow inmates at Kot Lakhpat jail. His family members are quoted as saying that Sarabjit may have died during the attack and the concerned authorities staged the drama of keeping him on a ventilator to soften the blow. His family members were just called to seek permission for the removal of the ventilator. Though it is premature to speculate how the inmates got to him in a high security jail with bricks and rods, what prompted them to attack him so brutally and what was the jail staff doing during this period? Why did they fail to protect him? Apparently either there were security lapses or the attack was instigated purposely to eliminate Sarabjit in order to avoid political and public uproar in case he was released or hanged. The Indian government executed Kasab, the only survivor of the Mumbai attacks, but protected him in his jail cell.

I condemn the brutal murder of Sarabjit Singh and ask the concerned authorities to investigate what inspired this attack and punish the culprits to set a precedent so that repetition of such an incident is avoided.

MOHAMMAD ASHRAF

Winnipeg,

Canada