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Surjeet Singh crosses over to India after 31 years in Pak jail

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Press Trust of India Attari (Amritsar)
Last Updated : Jan 24 2013 | 1:49 AM IST

69-year-old Singh looked cheerful as he got down from a prison van in Lahore escorted by a Pakistani security personnel who latched on to an iron chain hooked to his belt.

Sporting a flowing white beard, Singh told reporters after stepping on Indian soil that, "After 30 years, I am meeting my children. I am very happy".

Singh said that he wished to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple before leaving for his native Phidde village in Ferozpur district.

As soon he crossed the border, Surjeet Singh hugged his family members including wife Harbans Kaur, son Kulwinder Singh and grand children besides villagers from his native village Phidde who garlanded him, distributed sweets and burst into celebrations amid beating of drums.

Singh served a life term following his arrest on charges of spying in the 1980s in Pakistan. He was given the death sentence under the Pakistan Army Act in 1985. The death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 1989 by then President Ghulam Ishaq Khan.

Asked about another Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh who is lodged in Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore, Surjeet said certain groups in Pakistan opposed his release.

"I am sure now I will get Sarbjeet Singh released from Pakistan jail, don

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First Published: Jun 28 2012 | 4:06 PM IST

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