Four decades after being declared dead, BSF jawan Surjit Singh is reported to be alive and lodged in Pakistan's Kot Lakhpat jail. Leading rights activist Ansar Burney claims that an Indian prisoner of war - captured during the 1971 war - has been found in a Pak prison.
Burney said that the PoW is Surjit Singh who was captured in 1971 and his jail term ended in December 2010.
Burney also said that he has sent petitions to Pakistan President Asif Zardari and the Prime Minister Yousuf Gilani to release and repatriate Singh to India on humanitarian grounds.
During the 1971 India-Pakistan war, Surjit, a local resident, was caught by the Pakistan army and put in jail as a prisoner of war (POW). Subsequently, the Indian government declared him dead, said wife Angrej Kaur, 70.
After handing over the death certificate, the government granted family pension and other benefits to Angrej Kaur as Surjit's "widow".
After having lost all hope, she and her son, Amrik Singh, 39, have now set their sights on a reunion.
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