Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 29: The brutal torture and killing of Indian prisoner Chamel Singh in Kot Lakhpat Rai Jail of Lahore in Pakistan on January 15 this year has taken a new turn with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) taking up the matter with their Pakistani counterparts and seeking immediate autopsy report from Jinnah Hospital where first post-mortem was conducted on the body. The Government of India has also sought explanation of removal of vital parts from the body of Singh.
Official sources told the Excelsior that the MEA officials have spoken to their Pakistani counterparts after the post-mortem report, conducted by a Board of Doctors in the Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu confirmed that the prisoner, hailing from Pargwal area of Akhnoor tehsil had been tortured to death inside the jail where he was serving five years sentence for alleged spying.
Sources said the MEA has also sought the report of autopsy conducted on the body of Chamel Singh after his death at Jinnah Hospital in Lahore before his body was handed over to the family at Wagah border in Amritsar district of Punjab this month.
“The Pakistan authorities were legally bound to give autopsy report to their Indian counterparts along with the body at Wagah but they didn’t give it. Probably, Pakistan authorities were aware that the autopsy report would expose reasons behind the killing of Chamel Singh”, sources said, adding the MEA has now asked the Pakistan authorities to give the autopsy report.
They said the Pakistan Foreign Affairs Ministry hasn’t yet responded to the Indian demand for autopsy report.
Asserting that India has taken strong exception to the torture of Chamel Singh, sources said, the matter was being vigorously pursued for justice to the family.
The State Government has already constituted a high level Committee headed by Principal Secretary (Home) Suresh Kumar to look into the report of torture marks on the body of Chamel Singh as reported in the post-mortem report so that the issue could be taken up further with the Government of India.
According to sources, the post-mortem of Chamel Singh, which had been conducted by a Board of Doctors in the Government Medical College, Jammu soon after his body was brought here from Wagah border, revealed that he had peeling of skin over forehead at places left side of chick, below eyelid, at the back of chest measuring 4×3 cm, at the level of thoracic para-spinal region, peeling of skin measuring 4×2 cm over left knew.
As per the report, his vital organs like heart and blood vessels, gall bladder, spleen, both kidneys and stomach were not present in the body. Only part of left lung was present, which also showed decomposition changes. Right lung also showed decomposition changes.
An eye-witness and human rights activists in Pakistan have confirmed that Chamel Singh had been tortured to death.
Sources said there was no logic of removing the vital organs completely from the body even if it was to be preserved for some days in the hospital. There are some organs, whose some parts could be removed for preserving the body or for forensic examination but there was no purpose of removing all vital organs completely, they said.
Sixty years old Chamel Singh hailed from Pargwal town of Akhnoor tehsil in Jammu district and had been taken away by Pakistan Army from close to the fields on the Line of Control (LoC) in Pargwal in 2008. Chamel Singh was tortured to death by the Prisons staff on the row of washing of clothes at Kot Lakhpat Rai Jail in Lahore on January 15. It was after about two months that his body was given to his family via Wagah sector of Amritsar district.
The Legislative Assembly has repeatedly witnessed storm over brutal torture and killing of Chamel Singh.
Prior to him during Kargil war, Capt Sourabh Kalia had also been tortured to death by Pakistan Army. On January 8 this year, Pakistan Army had killed two Indian soldiers at the LoC in Mankote area of Poonch sector and beheaded one of them. They had taken away the head of the jawan with them.
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