67-year-old Patiala Sikh pilgrim dies in Lahore

Lahore, April 22

A visiting Indian Sikh pilgrim died in Lahore on Monday due to cardiac arrest, a Pakistani official said.

Some 2,400 Indian Sikh pilgrims who arrived here via Wagah border on April 13 to take part in Baisakhi festival left for their homeland on Monday.

“Sardar Jangir Singh, 67, a resident of Patiala, died of cardiopulmonary arrest on Monday,” Evacuee Trust Property Board spokesperson Amir Hashmi told PTI.

He said Singh suffered a heart attack during his stay in Gurdwara Dera Sahib, Lahore. “He was immediately shifted to Mayo Hospital, Lahore, where doctors pronounced him dead upon arrival,” Hashmi said.

The body was handed over to the Indian security forces at Wagah border, he added.

At Wagah border, Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee chief and Punjab minister Ramesh Singh Arora, PSGPC members and ETPB officers saw them off.

“We are always ready to welcome guests from the neighboring country,” Arora said.

During their 10-day stay, the Indian Sikhs attended the main festival at Gurdwara Panja Sahib, Hassanabdal. The pilgrims also visited Gurdwara Janamasthan, Nankana Sahib; Gurdwara Sacha Sauda, Sheikhupura; Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur; Gurdwara Rori Sahib, Gujranwala; and Gurdwara Dera Sahib, Lahore.