An Indian man on death row for spying died on Thursday nearly a week after he was attacked by fellow prisoners, who were swiftly charged with murder as New Delhi demanded justice. Sarabjit Singh, who was sentenced 16 years ago over deadly bombings, died in the early hours as a result of the savage assault in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail, a senior doctor at Jinnah hospital in Lahore told AFP.
Indian foreign ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin had earlier said it was "our primary focus" to ensure that Singh's body was returned to India and given a proper burial. He denied that Singh was an Indian spy. There was anger in India over his death. "The criminals responsible for the barbaric and murderous attack on Sarabjit Singh must be brought to justice," Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on his official Twitter page. Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid told reporters in Delhi that the India-Pakistan relationship had been hurt by this "terrible tragedy". Parliament's lower house was adjourned in uproar on Thursday as Speaker Meira Kumar moved a resolution condemning the "inhuman treatment" of Singh.