Is Sarabjit’s murder accused Tamba still alive? Cop’s statement adds twist to case

A day after it was reported that Amir Sarfaraz Tamba, an accused in the murder of Indian death row prisoner Sarabjit Singh in 2013, was killed by unidentified gunmen, a senior Punjab Police officer gave a spin to the incident claiming that he was “still alive”.

It was reported on Sunday evening that Tamba, a close associate of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror outfit founder Hafiz Saeed, was attacked by motorcycle-borne assailants at his residence in Sanant Nagar in Lahore. He was reportedly rushed to a hospital in a critical condition but he succumbed to his injuries.

SSP’s statement

However, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Operations, Lahore, Syed Ali Raza told the Dawn newspaper that “Tamba is still alive but critically injured”. However, Raza did not reveal where Tamba was shifted for “medical treatment” if he was alive.

When news agency PTI asked Lahore Police spokesperson Farhan Shah about the SSP’s statement on Monday, he declined to comment, terming the matter “sensitive”.

Pakistan ‘not ruling out’ India’s hand

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s interior minister Mohsin Naqvi on Monday did not rule out India’s hand in the murder of Tamba.

“India was directly involved in a few murder incidents here in the past. Police are investigating this matter and it would be premature to say India’s involvement in this (Tamba) case at this stage, however, they are suspecting India’s involvement. It has a similar pattern,” Naqvi, who is also the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), told journalists in Lahore on Monday.

Tamba’s killing

Two gunmen shot dead Tamba at his residence in Sanant Nagar, a thickly-populated area of old Lahore, on Sunday afternoon. A picture of Tamba’s blood-soaked body also went viral on social media.

Police have registered an FIR against two unidentified assailants on the complaint of Tamba’s younger brother Junaid Sarfraz.

According to the FIR, Junaid Sarfraz said he and his elder brother Amir Sarfraz Tamba, who was in his late 40s, were present at their home in Sanant Nagar when the incident took place.

Attack on Sarabjit

Tamba and his accomplice Mudassar — two Pakistani death-row prisoners — had attacked Singh, 49, in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail in 2013, resulting in his death.

A Pakistani court in 2018 acquitted the duo in Singh’s murder case, citing a “lack of evidence” against them.

The Lahore Sessions Court had announced the verdict in the case which was pending for more than five years.

Family’s fight for justice

Singh has been sentenced to death for his alleged involvement in a string of bombings in 1990 in the Punjab province of Pakistan.

However, Singh’s family in India maintained he was a victim of mistaken identity and had inadvertently strayed across the border.

His sister Dalbir Kaur had fought a long battle to secure his release from Pakistan but failed.

(With agency inputs)