Jaunpur (UP) Apr 20 (PTI) The last rites of Ghurahu Bind, a fisherman who died under mysterious circumstances in a Pakistani jail, were performed on Sunday after his remains reached his ancestral home in Basiraha village here in Uttar Pradesh, five days after his body was expected to arrive.

Under administrative supervision, his last rites were performed at Ram Ghat in Jaunpur, where his eldest son, Dheeraj, lit the funeral pyre.

According to officials, Bind was arrested in 2020 by the Pakistan Coast Guard after he allegedly crossed into Pakistani waters while fishing near the Okha coast in Gujarat.

He was imprisoned along with three other fishermen from his village, who remain lodged in jail even after five years.

Officials from the fisheries department, authorised by District Magistrate Dinesh Chandra, accompanied the body along with police personnel to the residence of Bind (49) late Saturday night.

Shortly after, the body was taken to Ram Ghat for cremation in the morning. Senior government officials attended the cremation.

DM Chandra assured that the administration would provide support to Bind’s family through various central and state government schemes.

Bind is survived by his wife, two sons and four daughters — three of whom are married.

The news of Bind’s death was officially conveyed to his family members by the Department of Fisheries on Tuesday, following an alert from the Indian embassy and Directorate of Fisheries, Lucknow.

The family says Bind may have taken his own life due to torture in the Pakistani jail. They have demanded that a post-mortem be conducted in India to determine the actual cause of Bind’s death and urged the government to initiate a formal investigation. PTI COR CDN SKY SKY