New Delhi: Sunita Jamgade (43), the Nagpur resident who crossed over the Line Of Control (LOC) into Pakistan on May 14 was sent back to India on Saturday, officials have confirmed.
Sunita, who was a nurse in Nagpur, Maharashtra, before becoming a door-to-door garments seller, had travelled to Kargil in Ladakh with her 12-year-old son during the India-Pakistan conflict. On May 14, she went missing from her hotel at Hunderban village in Kargil.
Her son revealed that his mother had scouted several locations along the LOC from where she could cross over. Before leaving, Sunita had told the child to remain in Hunderban till she returns. Her relatives in Nagpur said that Sunita was keen to meet a pastor in Pakistan who she had befriended over social media.
Indian authorities then contacted their counterparts in Pakistan with details about the missing woman. On Saturday, the Pakistan Rangers handed her over to the Border Security Force (BSF) in Attari, Punjab.
“A team comprising one officer and two women constables has been sent to Amritsar to bring Sunita back. Pakistan captured Sunita after she crossed the border. The BSF has handed over the lady to Amritsar Police,” Niketan Kadam, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone V), Nagpur Police, said.
“We will interrogate her once she is in Nagpur custody. We need to verify whether she was involved in spying or any other unlawful activity,” he added.
S D Singh Jamwal, the Director General of Police (DGP), Ladakh, had told The Indian Express that Sunita was in touch with Pakistani nationals before she went missing.
A zero FIR has been registered by the Amritsar Police, which will be transferred to the Kapil Nagar police station in Nagpur, as her permanent address is in the city.
Sunita’s son is now in the care of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC). He will be taken back to Nagpur. Her relatives claimed that Sunita had displayed signs of emotional distress and confusion in the weeks leading up to her disappearance. Her family had also shared that she was mentally ill and was undergoing treatment at a local hospital.
