New Delhi: Amir Sarfaraz, a Pakistani underworld don and the alleged killer of Sarabjit Singh — an Indian national murdered in a Pakistani jail in 2013 — was shot dead by unknown assailants Sunday, official sources told ThePrint.
According to sources, Sarfaraz, also known as Tamba, was shot dead at Islampura, Lahore. He is said to have been a close associate of Hafiz Sayeed, founder of terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
Sarabjit Singh was convicted by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 1991 for bomb blasts across Lahore and Faisalabad in 1990 and sentenced to death. He was arrested by Pakistani Rangers near Kasur, on an unmarked area of the Indo-Pakistan border.
Born in Bhikhiwind, Punjab, Singh had reportedly crossed the border mistakenly. He was convicted under Pakistan’s Army Act. His family had no idea of his arrest for nearly a year, until they received a letter of his conviction.
From the day this letter was received till his death in 2013, his sister Dalbir Singh worked to have him released. After his conviction, several mercy petitions were filed by his lawyers, none of which were granted.
Finally in 2012, the then president of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari, commuted his death sentence to life — 22 years after his initial arrest. A campaign launched by actor Raza Murad for his release reportedly received over 1,30,000 signatures in 2012.
Despite the efforts, Singh never left Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore. He was attacked in April 2013 by other prisoners — one of which is alleged to have been Sarfaraz — with sticks, bricks and iron rods. He was rushed to Jinnah Hospital with severe head injuries and an injured backbone.
He died six days later on 2 May, 2013, and his body was brought back to India for its last rites. An autopsy revealed his skull was broken into two pieces.
A biopic, Sarabjit, was released in 2016 and starred Randeep Hooda, Aishwarya Rai Bachhan and Richa Chadha.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
Also read: Baloch Rights activist urges UN to take action against enforced disappearances in Balochistan