86 years later, Bhagat Singh case being reopened

Eighty-six years after Bhagat Singh was hanged for the murder of a British police officer, his case being reopened by a Pakistani lawyer, who is trying to prove Singh's innocence.

Advocate Imtiaz Rashid Qureshi filed a fresh petition yesterday in the Lahore High Court for the early hearing of his case to prove Singh's innocence.

A larger bench to hear the petition by Qureshi was asked by division bench of the Lahore High Court. Qureshi, who runs the Lahore-based Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation, said Singh was a freedom fighter and fought for independence of undivided India. Many Pakistanis, especially in the Punjabi-speaking Lahore area, consider Singh a hero. Even the founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, had twice paid tribute to him, he added.

"It is a matter of national importance."

He has mentioned in his petition that sentence of Singh must be set aside and the state award must be given to Bhagat Singh. On March 23, 1931 at the age of 23 in Lahore, Bhagat Singh was hanged by British rulers.