JK govt sets up panel over Chamel Singh

The Jammu and Kashmir government on Thursday set up a panel to investigate torture marks on the body of Chamel Singh. "We have set up a panel to look into the torture marks on the body of Indian prisoner Chamel Singh and submit a report," said Minister of state for Home, Sajjad Ahmed Kitchloo.

Stating that the panel will be headed by the state's home commissioner, the minister admitted that there are four torture marks on Singh's body as revealed by the post-mortem report.

"Chief Minister Omar Abdullah will take up the issue with our external affairs ministry to ascertain if the injuries were grave in nature or if there were fractures," he said.

The assembly speaker also strongly condemned the incident, Kitchloo said. Jammu and Kashmir assembly on Thursday witnessed uproar over the issue of Singh's death in Pakisan, with the opposition demanding a resolution in the House to condemn it.

A preliminary post-mortem report had found four injuries, including a fracture, on Singh's body. He was allegedly assaulted by the prison staff in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat Jail.

Sixty-year-old Singh hailed from the border belt of Pargwal in Jammu district. Pakistani troops took him away from his fields close to the Line of Control in 2008.