PATIALA: A panel of doctors conducted the
post-mortem examination on the body of
Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) chief
Harminder Singh Mintoo at the
Government Rajindra Hospital. Mintoo had reportedly collapsed inside the Patiala Central Jail on Wednesday and was declared brought dead in the hospital. The examination was conducted in the presence of a judicial magistrate
His mortal remains were later handed over to his family members including his mother and two brothers. Mintoo’s mother Gurdev Kaur and brothers Satwinder Singh and
Lakhwinder Singh reached in the afternoon to claim his body, which was then taken to his ancestral village Dalli in Jalandhar district in a car decked with flowers where he will be consigned flame on Friday.
Meanwhile, some radicals held a protest on the premises of the Government Rajindra Hospital demanding a thorough probe into the circumstances under which Mintoo died inside the jail. Even as their entry to the mortuary was restricted, they gathered around the building and raised anti-establishment and pro-Khalistan slogans in presence of the cops.
According to the jail officials, Mintoo had collapsed in the barrack after he appeared before a Jalandhar court through video conferencing. He reportedly complained of uneasiness in the chest and fell on the ground. He was given first aid and rushed to the Government Rajindra Hospital where he was declared brought dead by the doctors.
According to his lawyer, Mintoo had been having heart problems for the last over one year and had repeatedly been admitted to the hospital after he complained of chest pain. Last year in may he had even been shifted to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh.
Meanwhile, the district police had made elaborate arrangements outside the mortuary to prevent any untoward incident and maintain law and order in view of the assembly of radicals. Later, a police team accompanied Mintoo’s family to his native village.
