The Hindu : National : A simple man, not a RAW agent, asserts sister

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Wednesday, Aug 24, 2005

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National

A simple man, not a RAW agent, asserts sister

Staff Reporter

I am confident that the Indian Government will not abandon my brother; we plead with folded hands

NEW DELHI: Sitting in her room at Member of Parliament Avinash Rai Khanna's residence here, Dalbir Kaur — elder sister of Sarabjit Singh, the Indian national sentenced to death in Pakistan — is a worried woman.

In the capital to plead with the Union Government to intervene and seek Presidential pardon for her "long-lost" younger brother, the day after "rakhsha bandhan" brought for this family the worst news they have had about Mr. Singh in 15 years.

"Over a decade after he was picked up and jailed for straying into foreign territory, all that we heard of him were through his irregular correspondence. He told us about this other group, all ordinary farmers who do not understand the nitty-gritty of political boundaries and were caught and put in Pakistan jails," says Ms. Dalbir.

"And now we hear that this simple farmer and father of two will be hanged. All this despite the fact that we have pleaded repeatedly that his is a case of mistaken identity. This afternoon, I along with the Bharatiya Janata Party MPs, Navjot Singh Sidhu and Avinash Rai Khanna and, Akali Dal MP, Ratan Singh Ajnar, spoke to External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh begging him to take up my brother's case with President Pervez Musharraf. He is a simple man, not a RAW agent,'' asserted his sister.

Back in the room after her visits to various Ministries, Ms. Dalbir, tired and visibly worn out with little sleep or food through the weekend, said every hour was like a punishment knowing that her brother might be dead soon if his family was not able to keep up the pressure on both the Governments.

"I am, however, confident that the Indian Government will not abandon my brother. Today, we were told that the Government would do all it can to save his life. We have faith in the Government and above all we have faith in God," says Ms. Dalbir, who was constantly on the phone with Mr. Sarabjit Singh's eldest daughter whom she has adopted.

"I have been a teacher and later worked with the government sector. My brother, who was working on the fields of the area landlord in the village, was drunk when he crossed over. We are a very simple family. Even when he wrote to us after he was caught, all that he told us was about his desire to be released, and like all other fathers, he enquired about the welfare of his children. He also told us not to leave the village just because he had been arrested. He loves his country and he dreams of living peacefully with his children. We plead with folded hands with the Indian and Pakistan Governments to let him do that," Dalbir said.

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