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Sarabjit Singh, also known as Manjit Singh, is an Indian citizen held prisoner in Pakistan. He was convicted for his alleged involvement in 1990 serial bomb blasts in Lahore and Multan that killed 14 people. He claims that he is just a poor farmer and victim of mistaken identity, who strayed into Pakistan from his village located on the border.

He has been given death sentence, but on April 29, 2008, his hanging was deferred for 21 days.

Prosecution Case

On August 24, 2005 foreign officer spokesman Naeem Khan said that ‘The alleged Indian agent Manjit Singh confessed his involvement in bomb blasts in Pakistan whose all evidences were presented in court.

According to the record, he was arrested red handed during crossing the border in August 1990 near the Kasur. Nine days later, he was produced before a magistrate as ‘Manjit Singh’, a man wanted for acts of terrorism in Pakistan. Before the magistrate, Manjit confessed to his crime. Also Pakistan says he was working for the Indian intelligence agency RAW when he was arrested in Lahore.

Death sentence

He was awarded the death penalty by the Anti-Terrorist Court in 1991, based on the original confession he had made before a magistrate. His sentence was upheld by the High Court and later by the Supreme Court. He was likely to be hanged on May 2008. The Supreme Court rejected his mercy petition in March 2006 and upheld the death sentence. President Pervez Musharraf had rejected his mercy petition on March 3.

Arguments for Manjit

Later on he denied it all during trial. He maintained that his name was Sarabjit Singh and that he had often crossed the Kasur border, smuggling alcohol . Manjit Singh’s relatives say he is a simple farmer who was arrested after he strayed across the Pakistani border from his northern frontier hometown of Bhikiwind in Punjab state while drunk in 1990. His wife Sukh Prit Kaur, a resident of Bhikhiwind village of district Tarantaran, claimed he left to plough his fields near Wagah Border on August 28, 1990, but never returned. She said the family launched a search but could not find any clue to his whereabouts for nine months and finally they received a letter from Manjit informing them that he was caught by Pakistani border forces when he mistakenly crossed the border under the influence of liquor. External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh took up Manjit Singh’s case with Pakistan High Commissioner Aziz Ahmed Khan and urged him to convey Delhi’s hope that Islamabad would treat the matter as a humanitarian issue.

Visit of his family to Pakistan

Later on the Government of Pakistan gave seven-day visa to Manjit’s family to visit Lahore.

We are hopeful that the government of Pakistan will release Manjit Singh after reviewing his death sentence and our visit to Pakistan will not prove futile.”Manjit’s wife Sukh Prit Kaur, who was accompanied by his two daughters Swapan Deep and Poonam Kaur, a sister and a paternal uncle, expressed the hope at Gurdwara Dera Sahib after her arrival in the city via Wagah on Wednesday.

Student protests

In April 2008, a group of Pakistani students organized a march, seeking withdrawal of all official moves to pardon Sarabjit. They also demanded a boycott of western products and culture and promotion of Islamic teachings.

Key witness retracts statement

Shaukat Salim, a key witness in the case against Sarabjit, was caught on tape retracting his statement on April 26, 2008. Salim's father and other relatives were killed in the attack, and he says that Sarabjit was the one who planted the bomb. But, earlier, he had said that he made the statements implicating Sarabjit under pressure from the Pakistani police. Meanwhile, Sarabjit's lawyer Abdul Rana Hamid told CNN-IBN that Salim's statements have no value as they were never recorded in court.

In the backdrop of gross anomaly in his trial, On 5th June 2009, a 6 paged communiqué was faxed to Supreme Court of India by Mr Sandeep Jalan, Mumbai, followed by an RTI application, same day asking to provide copy of documents showing action taken on his fax sent. Since the matter concerned the life of an individual, he had invoked relevant provision of RTI Act which oblige PIO to furnish info sought within 48 hours of receipt of RTI application.

On 12th June, he received a letter from Supreme Court of India. Among other things, it stated, in persuant to six paged letter to SC, it has vide its ref no. Dy No 4579/ SC/ PIL/ 20085 (5106/2009), dt 9th June, 2009, given direction to the Secretary of Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt of India, to take appropriate action in this regard.

May click this link to have access to 6 paged communiqué. http://commonlaw-sandeep.blogspot.com/2009/06/and-we-became-relevant.html

References

• The daily DAWN, March 18,2008.
• The daily DAWN, March 20,2008.
• The daily DAWN, April 24,2008.
• The daily DAWN, August 26,2005.
• The daily DAWN, August 29,2005.

1. Hanging of Indian 'spy' deferred
2. No pardon for Sarabjit, say Pak students
3. Pakistan student protests
4. Sarabjit case: Key witness retracts statement

External links

• The Sarabjit Case

• Living people
• Indian criminals