03-21-2008, 06:28 PM
<b>Appeal to trace Kerala PoW</b>
Kozhikode: Even as efforts are being made at governmental level to save Sarabjit Singh, who is in a jail in Pakistan facing death sentence, an appeal has been sent to the Ministry of External Affairs to find out the fate of Flag Officer K.P. Muralidharan of Nilambur, in Malappuram district missing in action during the 1971 India-Pakistan war.
Flight Officer Kottiyezhathu Puthiyaveettil Muralidharan is the son of Padmanabhan Thirumulpad of Nilambur Kovilakam and Malathi. He belonged to 20th squadron A7 of the Indian Air Force, his sister Lalitha Krishnakumar said.
She and other close relatives believe he is languishing in a Pakistan jail and could be released if the government intervened.
Muralidharanâs name appeared in the list of Prisoners of War (PoWs) in Pakistan.
According to information received by his relatives, an A 482 Hunter fighter plane he flew was shot down by Pakistan on December 4, 1971.
What has revived hopes of his return is a report from Lahore and published in a Malayalam newspaper, Madhyamam.
It quotes a report in Pakistan newspaper Daily Times that said 54 Indian soldiers were interned in Pakistan jails. The Pakistan newspaper published a list of these soldiers and Muralidharanâs name was in it, the Madhyamam report said.
In a letter faxed from Kozhikode to the Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed, Lalitha Krishnakumar said â this uncertainty [about the fate of her brother] is very hard to live with. My father had made many representations to get a confirmed report. He passed away 13 years ago..... My mother who is 86 years old is bedridden for the past couple of months following a surgery..... Her condition is grave.â
Kozhikode: Even as efforts are being made at governmental level to save Sarabjit Singh, who is in a jail in Pakistan facing death sentence, an appeal has been sent to the Ministry of External Affairs to find out the fate of Flag Officer K.P. Muralidharan of Nilambur, in Malappuram district missing in action during the 1971 India-Pakistan war.
Flight Officer Kottiyezhathu Puthiyaveettil Muralidharan is the son of Padmanabhan Thirumulpad of Nilambur Kovilakam and Malathi. He belonged to 20th squadron A7 of the Indian Air Force, his sister Lalitha Krishnakumar said.
She and other close relatives believe he is languishing in a Pakistan jail and could be released if the government intervened.
Muralidharanâs name appeared in the list of Prisoners of War (PoWs) in Pakistan.
According to information received by his relatives, an A 482 Hunter fighter plane he flew was shot down by Pakistan on December 4, 1971.
What has revived hopes of his return is a report from Lahore and published in a Malayalam newspaper, Madhyamam.
It quotes a report in Pakistan newspaper Daily Times that said 54 Indian soldiers were interned in Pakistan jails. The Pakistan newspaper published a list of these soldiers and Muralidharanâs name was in it, the Madhyamam report said.
In a letter faxed from Kozhikode to the Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed, Lalitha Krishnakumar said â this uncertainty [about the fate of her brother] is very hard to live with. My father had made many representations to get a confirmed report. He passed away 13 years ago..... My mother who is 86 years old is bedridden for the past couple of months following a surgery..... Her condition is grave.â