A 50-year-old fisherman from Gujarat, who was apprehended by Pakistani authorities a year ago on high seas, died in a jail in that country due to unknown reasons, an official said on Monday.
IMAGE: 20 Indian fishermen, who were released from Pakistan’s Landhi Jail, being handed over to Indian authorities at the Attari-Wagah border, January 20, 2020. Photograph: ANI Photo
The deceased is identified as Jayanti Solanki, a resident of Sutrapada village in the Gir-Somnath district.
He died a few weeks back but the information was received by local authorities on Sunday, the official said.
A team of Gujarat fisheries department from Veraval has reached the Wagah-Attari border in Punjab to receive the body of the fisherman, said fisheries officer Vishal Gohel.
“Our team has already reached the Attari-Wagah border. We expect that the body will be handed over to us by tonight. The mortal remains will be brought back here and handed over to the family members at Sutrapada,” said Gohel.
After learning about Solanki’s death from the Indian embassy in Pakistan, the central government asked the Gujarat fisheries department to carry out the further procedure, he said.
The primary investigation revealed that Solanki was a native of Vanakbara village in the Union territory of Diu and Daman and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
He was apprehended near the IMBL (International Maritime Boundary Line) in the Arabian Sea a year ago by the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency when he was onboard Rasool Sagar boat with other fishermen, Gohel said.
“Though Solanki was a native of Vanakbara, he was living with his family and in-laws at Sutrapada for the last many years. He was languishing in a Pakistani jail for the last one year following his apprehension. While he died a few weeks back, we received the information only yesterday (Sunday). The cause of his death is still not known to us,” added Gohel.
