'Messenger of peace' freed

By Our Staff Correspondent

CHANDIGARH, JULY 5. After his release from Pakistan's captivity, the round-the-world Indian cyclist and peace missionary, Mr. Vikas Singh, walked to freedom at the Attari-Wagah joint checkpost this evening. He will be handed over to the Amritsar district authorities after being questioned by the Border Security Force personnel.

Mr. Singh, on a world tour for the last 14 years, was arrested by the Pakistani authorities in April, when he crossed over from Afghanistan. He was found guilty of travelling without a valid visa and sentenced to three years' prison term in May and incarcerated in the Peshawar jail.

Sporting long hair and a beard, and wearing a Pathani suit, Mr. Singh was handed over to the Indian authorities around 5:17 p.m., while a group of about 50 presspersons and a crew of different television channels braved the sultry summer heat and waited for one of the most sought-after Indians taken prisoner by Pakistan. But, none of his family members, who hail from Lucknow, came to receive him.

Talking informally to the media, before being whisked away by the BSF, Mr. Singh expressed satisfaction over the Agra summit. Reiterating that he would continue his peace mission, which he started in 1987 from the India Gate, Mr. Singh said the summit reflected the ``success of his mission.''

He was also satisfied with his treatment in jail. When asked in detail about the ``special treatment,'' he said, ``jails are not five star hotels.''

A senior pressperson said Mr. Singh was the first Indian to have expressed satisfaction with the treatment meted out to him. Other Indian prisoners, on previous occasions, had narrated gruesome stories.

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