New Delhi, May 2 (ANI): Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said he was saddened to hear the news of Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh's death this morning at Lahore's government-run Jinnah Hospital, and expressed his regret over Pakistan not heeding India's repeated pleas to release the latter on humanitarian grounds.
In a statement, Dr. Singh said: "I am deeply saddened by the passing away of Sarabjit Singh. He was a brave son of India who bore his tribulations with valiant fortitude."
"The criminals responsible for the barbaric and murderous attack on him must be brought to justice. It is particularly regrettable that the Government of Pakistan did not heed the pleas of the government of India, Sarabjit's family and of civil society in India and Pakistan to take a humanitarian view of this case," he added.
May his soul be granted the peace that he could not enjoy in life. The government will make the arrangements to bring his remains home and for his last rites to be conducted in consultation with his family. The nation shares their profound grief with them," the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister's statement came hours after it was announced in Pakistan that Sarabjit, who was in a state of irreversible coma in the Jinnah Hospital, had died.
Sarabjit was admitted to the hospital with a severe head injury and deep cuts to his neck and torso, all of them inflicted by six Pakistani prisoners inside Lahore's Kot Lakhpat Jail last Friday.
He had been admitted to the intensive care unit of the hospital, where four of his family members - his sister, wife and two daughters - had visited hi. They returned to India yesterday, and roundly condemned the Indian Government for not taking up their cause in right earnest.
Sarabjit's sister Dalbir Kaur even called on Prime Minister Singh to resign over the issue.
The family has reportedly arrived in the national capital New Delhi to meet with the Indian leadership over the issue. (ANI)
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