Gujarat fisherman who died in Pakistan jail cremated at home
The mortal remains of a fisherman who died in a Pakistan jail in March this year was today consigned to flames at his native Kotada village in Gujarat's Gir Somnath district. Fisherman Deva Rama Baraiya's body was flown from Karachi to Dubai yesterday from where it was brought to Ahmedabad today and then taken by road to Kotada, said Kiran Dave, Gujarat Fisheries department-official.
Villagers observed bandh in protest against Pakistani authorities
The 4,500 residents of the village observed a bandh in protest against the Pakistani authorities for not informing Indian officials when Baraiya (55) died in a Karachi jail on March 4, Kotada village sarpanch Babubhai Somabhai said. Baraiya's family only got to know of his death when his cellmate, Pravin Dhansukh Chavda, wrote a letter dated April 22 to his wife.
Fisherman's wife approached Sushma Swaraj to find cause of death
Baraiya's wife, Kasturben, said that she had requested External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to take up his death with Pakistani authorities to find out its exact cause. Gujarat Chief Secretary JN Singh said that the MEA had informed the state government about Baraiya's death on June 12, and paperwork to get the fisherman's body back to the country began on the same day.
How Baraiya lodged into Pakistan jail?
Baraiya was arrested on February 2 this year by Pakistan maritime authorities after he allegedly entered the neighboring country's territorial waters near Jakhau Port in Gujarat's Kutch district. The body was kept in the morgue of Edhi Foundation, a Pakistan-based NGO, and a post-mortem was conducted on it at a hospital in Karachi on July 4 before it was flown to India, officials said.
