Before Surjeet,there were8230;

Hair tonic maker

At Khaira Kalan village in Punjabs Gurdaspur district,Rahi is known as the one who came from Pakistan. Rahi,58,says he was basically a Pakistani national though his parents were based in Khaira Kalan. He migrated after their death.

Released in 2005 after 17 years in jail,he is today working on a hair tonic named Dream Kola. I used to manufacture it when I was in Pakistan, he says.

Like all the others,he claims he spied for India,a role not officially acknowledged. After I migrated to India I came in contact with Ramp;AW. I betrayed Pakistan for India, he says. He says Ramp;AW paid him Rs 1,500 a month. I went to Pakistan,worked as a labourer and supplied information. I was caught during my fifth visit. My family continued to receive Rs 300 for 11 months, he claims,demanding salary for all the years in jail,a job for his son and help for business.

Daniel Masih

Arrested 1993,released 1997

Rickshaw to labour

Daniel Masih of Dadwan village,also in Gurdaspur district,is now supporting his wife and three children with hard labour on the paddy fields,having lost his primary source of income. He used to pull a rickshaw but it now lies in a corner of his one-room house,the front assembly broken. I have no money to get it repaired, Daniel says.

His claims of supposed spying include collection of information like photographs of bridges and cantonment areas. I worked for Ramp;AW for two years and was paid task by task, he says. I also arranged a meeting of Indian officials with a Pakistani civilian for getting secret information.

His stint in prison included a year in Gora Jail,Sialkot,where I was subjected to a high degree of torture and then three years in Kot Lakhpat jail. After his release,he says,he was accused in a bomb blast case at home ; he blames the government for saying he had fled to Pakistan after carrying out the blast. I had to face trials for nearly three years before I was acquitted, he says.

David

Arrested 1999,released 2006

Too ill to work

A few houses from Daniels is Davids. He is confined to bed after a paralysis attack on the left side a month ago. Ramp;AW officials sent me to Pakistan on September 8,1999, says David,echoing others released. He had been working as a daily wager at Pathankot grain market before paralysis struck him down.

Syed Khaki Hussain Shah

Arrested 2008,released 2012

Just back

On June 15,Syed Khaki Hussain Shah of Kamalkot village in Baramulla was among five released by Pakistan. This is one self-professed spy who claims he worked for the Army,apparently for six years at Rs 2,000 a month. Now waiting to start life afresh,he shows broken teeth as signs of torture he suffered in jail. He says he will never again work as a spy,whatever salary he is offered.

Gopal Dass

Arrested 1984,released 2011

Taxi driver

Gopal Dass of Bhaini Mian Khan,Gurdaspur,spent 27 years in Pakistan. Released last year,he makes ends meet by driving a taxi in Shimla. With the government not acknowledging his supposed role as a spy,he hits back: First the government used us and now when we demand our dues,we are told we are no Bhagat Singhs, he says.

Ram Raj

arrested 2004,released 2012

Dues to settle

Ram Raj of Budhi village,near Kathua,was released in February 2012 after eight years in prison. He says he went to the office of intelligence officials to whom he used to report but wasnt allowed to meet them. I have knee joint pains. While I was in jail,my wife had to work as a domestic help. I want my dues, he says.

Babu Ram

arrested 1998,released 2006

odd jobs

Babu Ram,55,of Ram Rajs Budhi village was a postman before his arrest in 1998,and now survives on odd jobs. Others struggling include Krishan Lal Bali,70,and Gurbax Lal,47,of Khai Peme Ki village,Ferozepur,both of whom spent 16 years in jail but two decades apart.

Kashmir Singh

arrested 1973,released 2008

Well settled

Kashmir Singh,70,of Hoshiarpur is one exception; he is not complaining about his lot since his release. Released in 2008 after 35 years in prison,he was given a plot by the Punjab government,with money for building a house and a fixed monthly pension. I wish everyone who went spying like me were given financial help, he says.