Sarabjit Singh cremated amid tears

Sarabjit Singh, the Indian prisoner who died after a murderous attack in a Lahore jail, was cremated at his hometown here Friday amid jostling crowds of tearful mourners.

His sister Dalbir Kaur lit the pyre as thousands of people gathered to pay their last respects to the man, a condemned terrorist in Pakistan and a martyr in India who was given a state funeral.

Among those who placed wreaths on Sarabjit's coffin were Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur, Akal Takht chief Gurbachan Singh and Punjab's cabinet ministers.

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, who had met Dalbir Kaur in New Delhi Thursday, walked up to the cremation ground and placed a wreath on the coffin. He stood next to the coffin for a while with other leaders.

Sarabjit died Thursday in a hospital in Lahore, six days after being attacked in the Kot Lakhpat jail.