“Italian Marines, Chamel Singh (another Indian prisoner who dies in Pakistan), Daulat Beg (China) and now, Sarabjit. Is it the WILL or the SPINE that’s missing??,” 27-year-old Arun Vijayan wondered on his Facebook wall.
“Dear Sarabjit’s family. Like the families of Nirbhaya, the beheaded solider, the 5-year-old raped girl, your son too will not get justice,” Bollywood Film Director Kunal Kohli said on his Twitter handle.
Sarabjit Singh’s death in Pakistan has become the subject of intense discussion on social networking platforms. Political leaders, celebrities and common netizens vented out their anger on Facebook and Twitter, blaming the UPA Government and the Pakistani establishment of not doing enough to save the alleged Indian spy.
Sarabjit died of cardiac arrest in a Pakistani hospital in the wee hours of the morning, after being comatose for nearly a week, following a brutal assault by fellow inmates in a high-security jail of Lahore. Sarabjit’s family said he was a victim of mistaken identity and had inadvertently strayed across the border in an inebriated state.
On Thursday, #Sarabjit Singh and #Pakistan were trending on Twitter.
The Opposition also did not miss the chance to pounce on the Government. “Both, the Government of India and Government of Pakistan have misled people on the Sarabjit Singh issue. The truth on this issue must come out,” BJP leader Narendra Modi said on Twitter.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described Sarabjit as “a brave son of India” and regretted that the Pakistan Government did not heed to the pleas of the Indian Government to take a humanitarian view.
India had appealed to New Delhi to shift Singh to an Indian hospital for treatment after his condition deteriorated in the last few days.
“Freedom at last, hope they give him to his fly. v all tried, guess nt hard enough. may god give his family strength n his soul rest in peace,” Bollywood actor Salman Khan, said on Twitter. Khan had launched an online petition last year seeking the release of Sarabjit.