Critically wounded Sarabjit Singh fights for survival
Singh was rushed to hospital with multiple wounds, including a severe head injury, after an argument in jail.
Sukhpreet Kaur (C), wife of Indian death row prisoner in Pakistan, Sarabjit Singh and Singh's daughter Swapandip (L), along with members of the Akhil Bhartiya Human Rights organisation (ABHRO), hold a candlelight vigil for the good health of Sarabjit Singh in Amritsar on April 27, 2013. PHOTO: AFP
LAHORE:
Indian spy Sarabjit Singh, who is currently on death row in Kot Lakhpat Jail and was attacked by fellow inmates armed with bricks, has been put on a ventilator as he fights for his life, officials said Saturday.
Singh, who was sentenced to death 16 years ago on espionage charges, was rushed to hospital Friday with multiple wounds, including a severe head injury, after an argument in jail.
"Singh's condition is critical with multiple wounds on his head, abdomen, jaws and other body parts, and he has been put on ventilator," a senior doctor in Jinnah hospital told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Singh is fighting for his life in the hospital's intensive care unit(ICU), and the next 24 hours are critical, the doctor said, adding that the head injury was "quite severe".
"He needs surgery but the doctors are not performing it because they don't want to take any chances and want him to stabilise," he said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs instructed the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi to facilitate provision of visas to Singh’s family members who may want to visit him in the hospital, said a foreign ministry spokesperson.
Singh was hit with bricks and other blunt objects by two inmates, a police officer investigating the case told AFP, identifying the suspects only by single names Aamir and Mudasir.
"These inmates attacked Singh while he was doing his evening walk. We don't exactly know at the moment what was the reason for this attack but initial investigation reveals that they had exchanged hot words with Singh," he said on condition of anonymity.
Singh's lawyer Owais Sheikh told AFP his client had received threats following the execution of Afzal Guru, who was hanged in New Delhi on February 9 for his part in an attack on the Indian parliament in 2001.
The attack on Singh was front-page news in Indian newspapers on Saturday, with Indian television stations running frequent updates on his condition and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh describing it as a "very sad incident", according to the Press Trust of India.
Singh was arrested following a bombing in Lahore in 1990 in which 14 people were killed.
He was sentenced to death after being convicted by a court on spying charges. His family has previously filed mercy petitions to Pakistani authorities seeking Singh's release.
Pakistan maintains he was an Indian spy, but Singh's family say he is a farmer who accidentally crossed the border into Pakistan while drunk.
Indian spy Sarabjit Singh, who is currently on death row in Kot Lakhpat Jail and was attacked by fellow inmates armed with bricks, has been put on a ventilator as he fights for his life, officials said Saturday.
Singh, who was sentenced to death 16 years ago on espionage charges, was rushed to hospital Friday with multiple wounds, including a severe head injury, after an argument in jail.
"Singh's condition is critical with multiple wounds on his head, abdomen, jaws and other body parts, and he has been put on ventilator," a senior doctor in Jinnah hospital told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Singh is fighting for his life in the hospital's intensive care unit(ICU), and the next 24 hours are critical, the doctor said, adding that the head injury was "quite severe".
"He needs surgery but the doctors are not performing it because they don't want to take any chances and want him to stabilise," he said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs instructed the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi to facilitate provision of visas to Singh’s family members who may want to visit him in the hospital, said a foreign ministry spokesperson.
Singh was hit with bricks and other blunt objects by two inmates, a police officer investigating the case told AFP, identifying the suspects only by single names Aamir and Mudasir.
"These inmates attacked Singh while he was doing his evening walk. We don't exactly know at the moment what was the reason for this attack but initial investigation reveals that they had exchanged hot words with Singh," he said on condition of anonymity.
Singh's lawyer Owais Sheikh told AFP his client had received threats following the execution of Afzal Guru, who was hanged in New Delhi on February 9 for his part in an attack on the Indian parliament in 2001.
The attack on Singh was front-page news in Indian newspapers on Saturday, with Indian television stations running frequent updates on his condition and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh describing it as a "very sad incident", according to the Press Trust of India.
Singh was arrested following a bombing in Lahore in 1990 in which 14 people were killed.
He was sentenced to death after being convicted by a court on spying charges. His family has previously filed mercy petitions to Pakistani authorities seeking Singh's release.
Pakistan maintains he was an Indian spy, but Singh's family say he is a farmer who accidentally crossed the border into Pakistan while drunk.