NEW DELHI, March 7 An Indian who insisted he was not a spy during more than three decades on Pakistan's death row has admitted he was a secret agent after his return to his home country, a report said on Friday.

Kashmir Singh, 61, was freed by Pakistan after 35 years at the urging of its human rights minister and crossed the border to India on Tuesday, where he was given a hero's welcome and showered with rose petals.

“I was a spy and did my duty,” admitted Mr Singh, the Press Trust of India news agency reported, adding he was paid about 400 rupees a month for his work.

“I went to serve the country,” he told reporters in Chandigarh.

“Even Pakistan authorities failed to get this information from me,” he said. He criticised the Indian government for failing to help him after he was caught in 1973, the report said.—AFP