A fisherman from Gujarat’s Gir Somnath district was reported dead in a jail in Pakistan earlier this month.

This is the second such death in the last three months, said Samudra Shramik Sangh (SSS), an NGO dedicated to the welfare of the state's fishermen, on Tuesday.

The deceased, identified as Bhupatbhai Jeevabhai Vala, 55, of Dudana village in the Kodinar block, died on October 9 as informed by fellow fishermen detained in the same Karachi prison. 

Vala was arrested by the Pakistan Marine Security Agency (PMSA) on October 12, 2021. He was allegedly found fishing aboard the trawler Raj Trishul in the Arabian Sea, an act purported by Pakistani authorities to be a breach of their territorial waters. Consequently, he was incarcerated in Karachi.

Vala leaves behind a bereaved family consisting of his wife, three daughters and a son.

Adding to the community's anguish, this incident closely follows the death of another local fisherman, Jagdish Mangal Bamaniya, from Nanavada village of the same block. Bamaniya's life was cut short in Malir jail, Karachi, on August 6 of this year. After a wait of 42 days, his family was finally handed his remains, which they laid to rest on September 17. IANS/VB