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A family photo of Sarabjit

A profile

Sarabjit was just 28 when he strayed into Pak. 23 years later, he came back in a coffin

From the archives of The Times of India

May 03, 2013

A timeline:

Born | Mar 19, 1962 Studied in Government Sr Sec School, Bhikhiwind -From poor family, worked on farms, often in fields close to Indo-Pak border

-Was a good mechanic

-Played kabaddi

-Married Sukhpreet Kaur in 1984 Two daughters Swapandeep and Poonam

Aug 1990 | Arrested near Kasur border. Charged with illegally crossing into Pak. Later charged with involvement in 4 blasts in Lahore and Faisalabad that killed 14 Oct 1991 | Convicted of spying, carrying out the blasts. Sentenced to death

Aug 23, 2005 | Pak supreme court upholds death. Over 5,000 rally in protest in Amritsar, demand clemency

Aug 29, 2005 | Alliance of militant groups, United Jihad Council, reportedly tells Pak govt to talk to India about Afzal Guru in exchange for Sarabjit’s pardon

Aug 30, 2005 | India gets consular access. Two diplomats meet Sarabjit in Kot Lakhpat jail outside Lahore. Sarabjit’s wife and daughters hand over letter seeking Presidential pardon to two Pakistan National Assembly members in Amritsar

Sep 2005 | Pak supreme court rejects mercy plea

Mar 2008 | Pak PM Pervez Musharraf turns down mercy plea

Mar 16, 2008 | Urdu newspaper Daily Express reports he will be hanged on April 1. Pak govt delays execution after appeals from family and Indian government

April 2008 | Family meets him in jail. Pak puts off hanging for 21 days. Death indefinitely postponed

Dec 2009 | International campaign launched by UK-based lawyer Jas Uppal for Sarabjit’s release

May 2012 | Sarabjit files fifth mercy plea

Jun 2012 | Media reports say Pak law ministry has asked interior ministry to free Sarabjit as he had served his sentence. A few hours later, Pak govt clarifies the prisoner to be released was Surjit Singh, 72, from Phiddey village in Ferozepur in Punjab

Apr 26, 2013 | Savage assault on Sarabjit with bricks inside jail by inmates; admitted to Lahore’s Jinnah hospital. His family calls for his transfer to India for treatment. Pak refuses

Apr 28, 2013 | Wife, daughters and sister see him in hospital

May 2 | Sarabjit declared dead at 1 am

Won kabaddi game, but lost his life

From the archives of The Times of India

May 03, 2013

On August 8, 1990, the bets were high for a group of 16 enthusiastic men playing their routine kabbadi match in the Bhikhiwind village in Punjab’s Tarn Taran close to the Indo-Pak border. Sarabjit, then 28, scored 13 points that day for his team. Overjoyed, they celebrated over drinks in the evening. “Every evening, each win at the kabbadi match would be celebrated with collective joy,” recalled Bitta Singh, Sarabjit’s now 42-year-old nephew. But matters turned grim soon after. An inebriated Sarabjit crossed over to Pakistan territory across the unfenced border in the Khem Karan sector. It was the last time Bhikiwind residents saw him.

The masterchef of Kot Lakhpat

Omer Farooq Khan

From the archives of The Times of India

May 03, 2013

Lahore: Sarabjit Singh, who died in Jinnah hospital a week after a deadly assault by fellow convicts, spent more than two decades in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat prison. Over time, he grew friendly with many of the inmates. Some of them swore by his cooking skills. He could make a mean dish of handi chicken. Sarabjit was in his late 20s when brought to Kot Lakhpat, a prison plagued by corruption and inefficiency that dealt with more than 6,000 prisoners when it had space for just 1,800. In prison, Sarabjit met hardcore criminals, prisoners of high-social status and petty goons from poor backgrounds, all packed into the Cclass confinement that had virtually no amenities. Sarabjit spent long years in Cclass until he was shifted to B-class around six years ago. The condition of B-class prisoners is a shade better as two to three inmates are housed in each cell that had its own bathroom, though in poor shape. A high-profile prisoner or one who faces threat from other inmates can be kept alone in a separate cell. According to jail officials, Sarabjit was given a separate B-class cell for security reasons and got a C-class prisoner named Akram as ‘helper’ (usually called a mushaqatti in jail jargon), a provision available to all B-class inmates in Pakistan’s jails. C-class prisoners normally prefer to serve prisoners in B-class, hoping for reprieve from their own class’s bland food. According to Akram, Sarabjit was a chain smoker, Gold Flake his favourite brand. “He was jolly but also sensitive and emotional. You just had to say a few words against India to make him angry. He remained a die-hard Indian nationalist until his last day,” a jail source said, quoting Akram. Akram, also tasked with cooking food for another, some say rich, Bclass prisoner was Sarabjit’s friend. According to prison sources, Akram and Sarabjit got along well and shared meals. They also say the unlettered Sarabjit would ask Akram to write to top government and jail authorities about his fear that he would be poisoned. “I cannot confirm whether or not Akram wrote the letters but he was always very helpful,” sources added. Another fellow inmate some eight years ago told TOI that Sarabjit, then a C-class prisoner, was given to him as chef. “An excellent cook, chicken handi was his special dish. He had a good sense of humour and always shared Punjabi jokes. I used to call him “sardarji”, the ex-prisoner had said then. Sarabjit’s main problem was financial. Being a chain-smoker, he always had difficulty buying cigarettes. His threat, in jest, was always: “Paaji, get a packet of cigarettes for me or I’ll not let you eat good food.”