An Indian fisherman, Gaurav Ram Anand, 52, allegedly died by suicide in Karachi’s Malir Jail on Tuesday, Dawn.com reported. Arrested in February 2022 for allegedly trespassing into Pakistani waters, Anand was found hanging in the prison’s washroom, according to jail authorities cited by Dawn.
Malir Jail Superintendent Arshad Husain confirmed the incident, stating that the inmate had gone to the washroom, where he hanged himself with a rope. A duty doctor pronounced him dead at 2:20 a.m., and a magistrate later ordered his body to be stored at the Edhi Foundation’s cold storage facility in Sohrab Goth pending further legal proceedings.
The tragic event denotes the ongoing plight of fishermen who frequently find themselves imprisoned for into territorial waters due to the lack of a clearly demarcated maritime boundary and many fishermen, lacking modern navigation systems, mistakenly cross into foreign waters and are arrested.
According to a government sources, as of December 31, 2024, 144 Indian fishermen and 1,173 boats—primarily from Gujarat—remain in Pakistani custody.
The issue gained renewed attention after the recent death of Babubhai Chudasama, a fisherman from Sokhda village in Una, Gujarat, who passed away while imprisoned in Pakistan. Reports suggest Chudasama, who had completed his sentence, fell ill on January 23, 2025, and died while being transported from the prison hospital to a city medical facility.
Chudasama’s family, along with relatives of other detained fishermen, claim many Indian inmates remain incarcerated even after completing their sentences due to bureaucratic delays in verification and repatriation. Families have accused Pakistani authorities of using detained fishermen as bargaining chips, with their boats confiscated and scattered across different jails.
(With inputs from Express News Service)
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)
