Dalbir’s husband visits her in hospital on Friday. (AFP)

Chandigarh, Aug. 18: Dalbir Kaur, sister of Sarabjit Singh, who is on death row in Pakistan for being allegedly involved in a series of blasts in 1991, tried to commit suicide in her house at Bikhiwind, 40 km from Amritsar.

“It happened last night. She consumed some liquid or tablets. She was worried after receiving a letter from my father (Sarabjit) that jail authorities in Lahore were torturing him, and not even giving him food. Phone calls from his lawyer had also unnerved her,” Swapandeep, Sarabjit’s daughter, said over the phone from home.

Dalbir, initially rushed to the Dhawan Hospital in Bikhiwind, was shifted to the civil hospital in Tarn Taran. “She is feeling better now. We hope she will be released soon,” Swapandeep said.

Dalbir bolted her room and did not respond to calls, after which the family forced open the door and found her sprawled on the floor, Swapandeep said. “The Indian government should make more efforts to get my father released,” she added.

A few months ago, Sarabjit’s family had threatened to commit suicide if he was not released. Dalbir sent several letters to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, reiterating Sarabjit’s innocence and pleading for his release. The family has also requested politicians and officials here, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, for help.

The police have confiscated the suicide note written by Dalbir. “She has asked the Centre to get her brother released from jail,” an officer connected to the probe said.

Dalbir’s husband, Baldev, threatened that the entire family could go his wife’s way and end their lives if Sarabjit was hanged. “The government does not seem to be bothered. Even our passports have not been sent,” he added.

According to Baldev, calls from Sarabjit’s lawyer in Pakistan, Abdul Hameed Rana, for more money to contest the case, also vexed Dalbir. “We have already paid him Rs 2.75 lakh. He is demanding another Rs 5 lakh and is threatening to quit the case if it is not sent to him. Sarabjit’s ill-treatment made matters worse,” he added.

Police in Pakistan have alleged that 14 people were killed in four blasts carried out by “Indian spy” Sarabjit who, they claim, sneaked in through the Punjab border. The family, however, insists he “strayed” across the frontier in an inebriated state and was implicated in a “false case”.

Dalbir and other family members have prayed for Sarabjit’s clemency from Musharraf and also appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to use his good offices to ensure that he is spared on humanitarian grounds.