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Doing his bit for Indians in Pakistan jails

Luv Puri

Swaran Lal, who spent 14 years in Lahore jail, compiled a list of Indian prisoners

“Many prisoners have lost their mental balance”
“Authorities have failed to act on primary information”

Kunjawani: As the nation celebrated the release of Kashmir Singh from a Pakistan jail after 35 years, the man who confirmed his whereabouts last year believes that the battle to get other Indians released from Pakistan jails has just started.

Fortyfour-year-old Swaran Lal spent nearly 14 years in the Lahore jail where Kashmir Singh was lodged. Swaran Lal compiled a list of Indian prisoners in the jail with their details.

“I knew that the real service that I can do to my colleagues after my release was to reveal their whereabouts to the rest of the country. Therefore, during the last month of my sentence I carried out an extensive research at my own level with the help of other colleagues and wrote all the names of the persons lodged in the jail.”

According to Lal, there are several Indians whose plight is not very different from Kashmir Singh’s and may be worse health wise.

Shahabuddin (73) of the Mendhar area of Jammu and Kashmir was arrested in 1991 and was given a 25-year sentence. “The old man has lost all hopes of ever being released,” Swaran Lal said. Charan Singh, 61, resident of Amritsar, was arrested in 1986 and was charged under the Pakistan Army act. His wife has died. Charan Singh asked Lal to tell his relatives on the Indian side to consider him dead as he had lost all hopes of release.

Fortyfour-year-old Kripal Singh is facing a death sentence. He was arrested on July 7, 1993 from the Narowal area of Pakistan, which adjoins Gurdaspur district.

There are many others who have lost their mental balance. Hakim Singh from Haryana was sentenced for 12 years initially. He has lost his mental balance and is looked after by other Indian inmates.

Depression

Prakash (52) from Jammu and Kashmir was arrested in Pakistan in 1997 and is still awaiting his release. He too is in a state of depression.

“I am surprised that the authorities have failed to act upon primary information I collected. Who would know better about Indian inmates inside the jail than a person who spent nearly 14 years there,” asks Swaran Lal.

But so far, no one has cared to ask for the information, he says.

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