Kirpal Singh cremated at native village

Read | In Pakistan jail since ’92, Kirpal Singh longed for home; family now waits for his body

Singh was cremated in presence of his family, Deputy Commissioner Gurdaspur Pardeep Sabharwal and Dalbir Kaur, sister of Sarabjit Singh amongst others.

Read | India to raise prisoner Kirpal Singh’s death issue in Pakistan at top level 

Interestingly, while no leader from the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) attended the cremation, local leaders from Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) turned up to attend the last rites.

Although the government has not announced any financial aid or job for any of the family members till now, Sabharwal, however, assured all possible help to the relatives.

Amidst the pall of gloom, a rift seemed to be brewing within the family over the right to cremate the body.

While nephew Ashwini Kumar, who claimed to be the adopted son of Singh wanted to cremate the body, a woman, Paramjit Kaur, who claimed to be the wife of Singh, wanted to perform the last rites.

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Before the scene turned ugly, the administration took over the situation and allowed Ashwini to lit the pyre.

Though the preliminary autopsy report suggested that there were no internal and external injuries on Singh’s body, the family remained firm that Singh was killed in the Lahore jail since he knew secrets related to the death of Sarabjit.

However, Sabharwal said the family should wait for the final post-mortem report before coming to a conclusion.

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