Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh's killer shot dead by gunmen in Pakistan: Reports
Lahore/New Delhi, Apr 14: Amir Sarfaraz Tamba, an accused in the murder of Sarabjit Singh, the Indian death row prisoner in Pakistan, and a close associate of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror outfit founder Hafiz Saeed, was killed by unidentified gunmen in an apparent "targeted attack" in Lahore on Sunday.
Tamba was attacked by motorcycle-borne assailants at his residence in Sanant Nagar, a thickly populated area of old Lahore in the afternoon. He was rushed in critical condition to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
Police have registered an FIR against two unidentified assailants on the complaint of Tamba's younger brother Junaid Sarfraz. According to reports, Tamba’s body bore bullet wounds on chest and legs.
Singh, 49, died of cardiac arrest in Jinnah Hospital Lahore in the wee hours of May 2, 2013, after being comatose for nearly a week following a brutal assault by inmates, including Tamba, inside the high-security Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore.
Singh had been allegedly found guilty of taking part in several bombings in Pakistan's Punjab province in 1990 and was given the death penalty. 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.
Dr Usman Anwar, Inspector General Police of Pakistan’s Punjab province, said that police are investigating the murder of Tamba from all aspects. “However, it will be premature to pinpoint involvement of anti-State elements at this stage,” he said.
According to the FIR, Junaid Sarfraz said he and his elder brother Amir Sarfraz Tamba were present at home in Sanant Nagar when the incident took place.
“I was present at the ground floor while Tamba was at the upper portion. The main gate of the house was open. Two unidentified motorcyclists -- one wearing helmet and other a facemask -- entered the house at 12.40 pm Sunday and moved towards the upper portion.
“They fired three shots at Tamba and fled from the scene. I rushed to the upper floor and found Tamba in a pool of blood. He was shifted to hospital where he succumbed to his wounds,” Juniad said in his complaint.
Tamba, son of Sarfaraz Javed, was born in Lahore in 1979 and was a close associate of the LeT founder, who felicitated him for killing Singh, official sources in India said.
In Lahore, police officer Sajjad Hussain told PTI that it appears to be a “targeted attack.”
Hussain said the younger brother of Tamba told police that the family had no enmity with anyone. He said police are also investigating Tamba's killing regarding his role in the alleged murder case of Sarbajit Singh.
Notorious as ‘Lahore ka asli don’, Tamba was part of the ‘Truckwalla gang’ and was engaged in the property trade and drug trafficking, the sources said, adding, he was involved in a clash recently with one of the gang members Ameer Balaj Tipu, who was later killed during a marriage reception in Lahore.
Tamba and his accomplice Mudassar -- two Pakistani death row prisoners -- had attacked Singh in 2013 resulting in his death.
Singh died before recording his statement before the doctors.
A Pakistani court in 2018 had acquitted them both in Singh’s murder case citing “lack of evidence” against them after all the witnesses turned hostile.
A one-man judicial commission of Justice Mazhar Ali Akbar Naqvi of Lahore High Court had initially investigated Singh’s murder case before the trial kicked off in the Sessions court.
Judge Naqvi recorded the statements of some 40 witnesses in the case and submitted its report to the government, which is yet to make its findings public.
The one-man commission had also issued notices to Singh’s relatives through the Foreign Ministry to record their statements and produce any evidence they had regarding his death.
However, Singh’s family did not record their statements.
Tamba and Mudassar, in their statements to the commission, had confessed to the crime and said they killed Singh as they wanted to avenge the killing of people in Lahore and Faisalabad in bomb blasts allegedly carried out by the Indian national.
Tamba was enjoying all facilities, including a mobile phone, inside the jail during his imprisonment, the sources said.
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Bumrah leads India to its biggest Test win on Australian soil
Perth (PTI): Jasprit Bumrah led a feisty bunch of Indian cricketers to their most dominant Test victory on Australian soil, winning by a massive 295 runs in a remarkable turnaround that will find a pride of place among the country's golden moments in international cricket.
The stand-in skipper led by example with a match-haul of 8/72 as India bowled out the hosts, who were in pursuit of a mammoth 534, for 238 in 58.4 overs on the fourth afternoon of the opening Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy here.
The victory propelled India back to the top of the World Test Championship standings with 61.11 percentage points.
India's previous biggest winning margin in terms of runs was 222 during a 1978 game in Sydney when Australia played an under-strength side due to mass exodus for the Kerry Packer World Series.
India are now 1-0 up in the five-Test series with regular skipper Rohit Sharma ready to take over during the Day/Night game starting December 6 in Adelaide.
While Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul will be among the heroes with their solid second innings batting performances, it was Bumrah's unbelievable skill-set and self belief during Australia's first innings rout that formed the cornerstone of India's win.
Not many teams have come back after being 150 all-out on the first day but this Indian team has time and again showed that it is built different.
Prior to the Test, Bumrah spoke about embracing challenges and he did walk the talk during all four days.
It was evident from the manner in which he allowed Mohammed Siraj (match haul of five wickets), debutants Harshit Rana (match haul of four wickets) and Nitish Reddy (41 and 37 not out and one wicket) bowl from the Member's End so that they can get extra help due to the ball keeping very low.
Washington Sundar (two wickets and 29 runs), who was preferred after the team management felt that Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja with 850 plus Test wickets between them, would not be as effective on this track, also did his bit in mopping up the tail.
The victory will bear greater significance because of India's shocking 0-3 whitewash at home by New Zealand.
With three of their automatic first team selections in skipper Rohit, talented Shubman Gill and bowling artist Mohammed Shami ruled out due to different reasons, Bumrah, leading in only his second Test, was left with a lot to do and less options to work with.
Gabba 2021 evokes nostalgia for every Indian cricket fan but Perth 2024 will certainly be right up there considering that no one, save those eleven and the few others in that change room, could have believed that something like this is possible.
Often the job of deputies in cricket is an understated one but it is all about making it easy for the general in charge.
Rahul Dravid had tirelessly done that for Sourav Ganguly during their time and as Rohit Sharma checked-in, he would know that his deputy has at lest tried to remove the ton of pressure on his chest after the home series debacle.
Gambhir Moves
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Credit must also go to head coach Gautam Gambhir, who copped a lot of flak after the defeat to the Black Caps and it was widely believed that rookies Reddy and Harshit got Test caps on his insistence.
Gambhir, who seldom smiles, could afford a grin under the Perth Sun as the burly Harshit and the sinewy Nitish didn't deviate from the script handed to them for the better part of the game.
Nervous Aussies
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Starting the day at 12 for 3 in pursuit of 534, it was about how much time would it take for Australia to capitulate and they eventually did despite a counter-attacking 89 by Travis Head that only delayed the inevitable.
On the last two tours, India started the series at Adelaide, which is believed to have friendlier batting conditions but this time, Australia decided to make the first move putting India on the bounciest surface in the country.
The move only worked for a session and a half before it backfired completely. The Australians had factored in India's vulnerability but decided to punt on their own batting line-up which has been woefully short of runs.
Steve Smith, one of the modern day greats, and Marnus Labuschagne, who has always been obsessed about batting, have had their forms desert them for the longest time.
Then they inducted a rookie in Nathan McSweeney, who isn't particularly tested and also not an opener. It indicated that just like India, Australia will also face a transition, and it's case could be even worse.
Josh Hazlewood had thrown the towel on third evening itself and one shouldn't be surprised if the Australian team management plays on flatter batting decks in the coming matches in order to nullify Bumrah's threat.
But Bumrah is the sort of bowler can tighten the noose whenever he desires and irrespective of conditions.
On the fourth afternoon, he came back to dislodge Head, who was putting on a fight.
That was possibly the best of his eight wickets in the game. It was pitched on length and the compulsive driver that Head is, he didn't expect it to climb from length and it took the outside edge.
