Beaten up, forced to work in 2 shifts, says fisherman released from Pak jail

Vadodara: One of the fisherman released from a Pakistan jail has claimed that inmates were "beaten up" on several occasions in the aftermath of the surgical strikes conducted by India across Line of Control (LoC).

"After the surgical strikes by India across LoC we were forced to work in two shifts which was against the rules and beaten up for not performing duties to the satisfaction of jail authorities," Ramchandra Tandel, a native of Navsari, who arrived at coastal town of Veraval after being released from Pakistani jail on December 25, told PTI on Friday.

The fishermen also missed watching Bollywood movies while in the jail after Pakistani authorities banned screening of Indian films for past some months.

"In the initial period of our custody, all of us were allowed to watch Indian movies. However, it was suddenly stopped and only Pakistani movies were screened," said Tandel, who was arrested from Okha port about 12 months ago on charges of entering Pakistani territorial waters.

"We even requested Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to direct jail authorities to start screening of Indian movies," he said.

Meanwhile, the Gujarat Fishermen Association (GFA) has blamed the jail authorities for deteriorating health condition of one of the fisherman, Bhagwan Solanki, who suffered a paralytic stroke in jail.

"His (Solanki's) health is in very bad condition as he suffered a severe paralytic stroke in jail. How can a healthy person suffer attack in jail? It raises questions on negligence of Pakistani authorities in providing medical treatment to the jailed fisherman," Velji Masani senior vice-president of GFA said.

"The jail officials even did not inform the family members about the stroke suffered by Solanki," said Masani.

He observed that had Pakistani authorities sent him (Solanki) to Gujarat soon after suffering attack on humanitarian ground, this situation would not have arised.

The 110 fishermen released on December 25 by Pakistan, arrived in Veraval about 300 kms from Vadodara today.

Pakistan has decided to release 439 Indian fishermen in two batches as a goodwill gesture to strengthen ties amid cross border tension. A batch of 220 fishermen was released on December 25 with another batch of 219 to be released on January 5, 2017.