Islamabad lodges protest after Pakistani inmate allegedly beaten to death in Indian jail

Published February 22, 2019
Pakistan on Thursday lodged a strong protest with India regarding a Pakistani prisoner who was beaten to death by a group of inmates at the Jaipur Central Jail. — File/Courtesy India Today
Pakistan on Thursday lodged a strong protest with India regarding a Pakistani prisoner who was beaten to death by a group of inmates at the Jaipur Central Jail. — File/Courtesy India Today

Pakistan on Thursday lodged a strong protest with India regarding a Pakistani prisoner who was allegedly beaten to death by a group of inmates at the Jaipur Central Jail.

A press release issued by the Foreign Office (FO) said the Pakistani High Commission had sought clarity from Indian authorities on February 20 following media reports about the death of the Pakistani prisoner, identified as Shakirullah, in India.

Saying Pakistan was "gravely concerned" about reports of Shakirullah's murder, the FO had on Wednesday raised the issue with Indian authorities for verification as well as provision of "foolproof security to all Pakistanis" in India.

In the press release today, the FO spokesperson said they had been informed that the now deceased inmate had sustained injuries following a "scuffle" between fellow inmates in the television room of the jail, "which proved fatal".

The FO noted that as per some Indian media reports, Shakirullah was lynched.

"It is incomprehensible how a 'scuffle' between prisoners in an established Government set up was allowed to escalate to the extent that Mr Shakirullah sustained fatal injuries," the statement said.

The deceased, hailing from Sialkot, was undergoing life imprisonment after his conviction in a terror-related case in Jaipur in 2017, The Hindu had reported. He reportedly received serious head injuries caused by a blunt object after an "altercation" with other inmates, the publication had added.

According to India Today, the prisoner was beaten to death inside the Jaipur Central Jail by three inmates.

The FO spokesperson asserted that the security and safety of Pakistani inmates was the responsibility of the Indian government and that it should have taken "enhanced measures" to prevent this incident.

"The Government of India must provide enhanced security to ensure [the] safety of all Pakistanis, especially Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails to ensure prevention of recurrence of such tragic and reprehensible incidents," the press release stated.

The incident came less than a week after a suicide bombing in Indian-occupied Kashmir's Pulwama killed more than 40 Indian troops. Relations between Pakistan and India have been tense since the bombing, with the latter blaming the former of being complicit in the attack — a charge Islamabad has denied from the get-go.

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