Several college girls performed a yagna (religious offering) on Thursday in Bhikhiwind village, next to the Pakistan border, to pray for the life of Sarabjit Singh, who is facing death sentence in the neighbouring country.

Singh's two daughters - Poonam and Swapandeep Kaur - and wife Sukhpreet Kaur were also present in the Gurukul college premises during the yagna.

5,000 people hold rally to demand clemency

They later praised the media for bringing back a ray of hope in their lives regarding the homecoming of Singh, which they had completely lost in the last one decade.

Many girl students have also written to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf [Images] to secure  unconditional clemency for Singh so that he could come back to India to join his family.

PM to speak to Pak Prez on Sarabjit issue

Meanwhile, a complete bandh was observed in Bhikhiwind and neighbouring villages to urge the Indian government to leave no stone unturned in trying to save Sarabjit's life.

Sarabjit Singh had inadvertently crossed over to Pakistan and reached Kasoor district in June 1990 from Khalra border sector near this village. Later in 1991, he wrote a letter to his family from Pakistan's Kotlakpat Rail jail stating that Lahore [Images] police had framed him in a series of bomb blasts cases that had rocked different provinces of the country after arresting him under the fake name of 'Manjit Singh'.

No mistaken identity, says Pak