New Delhi: Border Security Force (BSF) jawan Purnam Kumar Shaw was handed back to India by the Pakistan Rangers on Wednesday. The BSF confirmed that Shaw, who was nabbed by the Pakistanis on April 23 was handed over around 10.30 am through the joint check post in Attari, Amritsar.
Shaw was posted at a Border Outpost along the International Border (IB) with Pakistan in Ferozepur, Punjab. He was escorting Indian farmers in their farmland across the border fence, when he accidentally stepped across the IB. The Pakistan Rangers immediately apprehended him.
The BSF called for flag meetings on several occasions to get Shaw repatriated, but to no avail. Such incidents of accidental crossing of the IB are common among troops of both border guarding forces and they are generally repatriated during flag meetings.
However, Shaw’s incident occurred a day after 26 persons, mostly tourists from across the country, were shot dead by terrorists at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir. A diplomatic row had already erupted between India and Pakistan at the time of the jawan’s apprehension.
Photographs shared on social media in Pakistan showed the blindfolded BSF jawan, with his hands tied behind the back, being escorted to an unknown location. India kept on demanding his release, even as the two countries entered into a military conflict.
Shaw’s family at Rishra in the Hooghly district of West Bengal were worried about his safety after the armed conflict started.
