Across the country on Thursday evening, candle-light gatherings were held in memory of Sarabjit Singh, whose body was flown home on a special plane from Lahore, where he died in hospital six days after he was brutally attacked in prison.But politicians in India were unable to prevent themselves from trying to leverage the tragedy.When the Centre declared that Preneet Kaur, the Junior Minister for External Affairs, would be at the side of Mr Singh's family when his body arrived in Amritsar, the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) party in Punjab swung into action. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal reached the airport accompanied by other senior Akali leaders.And then there was a reprehensible spat over who would travel with the body in a helicopter to Mr Singh's village of Bhikhiwind.The state administration had not included any Congress leaders other than Parneet Kaur on the list of passengers allowed on the helicopter.Sources say that the state government had deliberately made a last-minute change to the terminal from which the helicopter would depart to prevent Congress representatives from making the journey.For over an hour, while the plane from Lahore was awaited, the Congress and Akali politicians slugged it out. Finally, the Congress ensured that six of its members were included on the passenger list along with two Akali Dal leaders. Sarabjit's family members left for Bhikhiwind in another chopper earlier.

The state government has also announced that it will give Rs one crore in compensation to Mr Singh's family. The centre had committed to 25 lakhs.On Friday, Mr Singh, who spent over two decades on death row after being convicted for terror attacks in Pakistan, will be given a state funeral. The Punjab government has said he is a "national martyr who suffered unspeakable repression and torture with dignity."