Sarabjit Singh in deep coma, Pak expedites visas for family

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Indian death row prisoner Sarabjit Singh on Saturday slipped into a deep coma, strapped to a ventilator in a Lahore hospital where he was admitted a day earlier after a near fatal attack by fellow inmates. As doctors battled to revive him, Pakistani authorities granted visas to his family in hours, triggering speculation that they too feared the worst for this latest victim of hostile bilateral ties. The 49-year-old Punjab resident, who has languished in Pakistan jail since he was caught as a trespasser and convicted as a terrorist and a spy two decades ago, was bashed up with bricks and blunt objects, leaving him bleeding from the head. Pakistani officials, who have consistently ignored his pleas for greater security in the face of abuses getting shriller following Kasab's and Afzal Guru's hangings, now embarrassed by his condition, allowed India consular access and slapped attempt to murder charges on the assailants. "We have received a call from vice-chairman of National Commission for Scheduled Castes, Raj Kumar, informing us that the high commission has given visas to all of us for travelling to Pakistan. Besides, one of our family members has got permission to stay with Sarabjit in hospital," Dalbir Kaur, sister of Sarabjit, told TOI on Saturday. The family members had approached Raj Kumar for help after they were told of Sarabjit's condition in Lahore's Jinnah hospital. He had flown to Delhi on Saturday afternoon with the passports of the family members and rushed to the Pakistan high commission. The family's fears escalated on Saturday after neither jail authorities nor doctors gave any medical updates on Sarabjit's condition. Doctors have refused to speak to the media since Friday when Sarabjit was admitted to the hospital after the attack which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday described as a "sad incident". Agencies quoted a statement of Pak foreign office spokesperson as saying, "As a result of scuffle between prisoners at Kot Lakhpat jail, Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh suffered head injuries which rendered him unconscious. Doctors and medical staff at the hospital are working round-the-clock to revive the prisoner who remains unconscious and on a ventilator." It said hospital's medical staff had updated the two Indian high commission officials, who were allowed to visit Sarabjit on Friday, about his condition. Police have registered a case of attempted murder against two prisoners - Amer Aftab and Mudassar -- after a complaint from jail officials though six inmates are said to have attacked Sarabjit. Dalbir Kaur, along with Sarabjit's wife Sukhpreet Kaur and daughters Swapandeep and Poonam, are to leave for Lahore through Wagah border on Sunday. Dalbir said she would stay with his brother in the hospital. Sarabjit's family members had met him in jail in April 2008 and last in June 2011. Sarabjit had written to family about threat in jail Poonam said three weeks ago they had received a letter from Sarabjit in which he had apprehended an attack from fellow inmates who wanted to take revenge for the hanging of Ajmal Kasab and Afzal Guru. "We had told about the threat to everyone in the government. I wish they had listened to our pleas," she said. Desperate to leave for Pakistan, Sukhpreet Kaur said, "I want to look after my husband, I hope he recognizes me". Sukhpreet said she had bought food and clothes for her husband. Daughter Swapandeep had also purchased several things for her father but left them in Jalandhar while leaving for Amritsar in a hurry. Meanwhile, shops in Sarabjit's native village Bhikhiwind remained closed in protest against the attack. In Amritsar, prayers were held for the well-being of Sarabjit and the students held a candlelight vigil for his speedy recovery. Sarabjit was convicted for alleged involvement in a string of bomb attacks in Punjab province in 1990. His family claims he is a victim of mistaken identity and had inadvertently strayed across the border. Political plot behind assault: Pak human rights activist Ansar Burney, Pakistan's human rights activist and one of Sarabjit Singh's counsels, on Saturday saw a conspiracy behind the attack on the Indian death row prisoner. Burney didn't rule out a "political plot" behind the near fatal attack on Sarabjit as Pakistan goes to polls in two weeks. "There appears to be a deep-rooted conspiracy to attack Sarabjit ahead of polls which should be investigated," he said. Talking to TOI over phone from Karachi, Burney said, "I see some foul play in it. Pakistan government was not releasing Sarabjit and it couldn't hang him due to international pressure. So an attack on him could serve the purpose to gain support from fundamental elements during polls." He said since Friday he had been getting threats from various Taliban groups and fundamentalists, who are inimical to peace with India, forcing him to postpone his visit to Lahore to meet the Indian prisoner. "But I have sent Ansar Burney Trust volunteers to provide all help to Sarabjit Singh," he said. Burney said the Trust had moved a fresh mercy petition before the Pakistan president to commute the death sentence , its 14th petition for Sarabjit. Another human rights activist and advocate from UK Jas Uppal echoed Burney's views. "Pakistan authorities most likely encouraged the attack on Sarabjit as they knew that it could help them during elections," he told TOI over phone from London. Jas had launched a worldwide 'Save Sarabjit' campaign. She said it was difficult to understand how the attackers got bricks and sharp objects in prison and that there was no security around or intervention by the prison wardens. Jas said she had been informed by the Red Cross in Pakistan that they had been refused permission to meet him. "If this is indeed the case, then the Pakistani authorities are in breach of international law," she said. Deepak Kumar, son of Indian prisoner Chamel Singh who was killed in a similar assault by fellow inmates in the same prison on January 15, said, "Who can feel the pain more? I lost my father recently in a similar attack." Talking to TOI from Jammu, he said, "I think now they hate Indians after the hanging of Ajmal Kasab and wanted to take revenge on hapless Indian prisoners." He said attack on Sarabjit reminded him of the torture meted out to his father. "My father was also admitted in the same Jinnah Hospital in Lahore after he was brutally assaulted and he died in the same hospital," he said. Chamel Singh, a resident of Jammu, was arrested in 2010 at Sialkot and was awarded five years' imprisonment for spying. He was brought to Kot Lakhpat jail in June 2012.