New Delhi, April 25: Pakistan Rangers refused to hand over a BSF jawan, who inadvertently strayed to the other side, for the third straight day on Friday and remained non-committal on his whereabouts, official sources said.
The jawan, Constable Purnam Sahu of the 182nd Border Security Force (BSF), was apprehended by the Rangers from a farming field along the Ferozepur district of Punjab on Wednesday.
Sources told PTI that the BSF has made multiple contacts and sought flag meetings with the Rangers to secure the release of its jawan but the response has “not been positive” till now.
The incident comes at a time when relations between the two countries have hit a low in the wake of the Pahalgam terrorist attack which claimed 26 lives.
The BSF has also alerted all its formations and asked them to be on “heightened vigil” along the 2,289 kilometers India-Pakistan border that runs from Jammu in the north to Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat in the west in the wake of the Pahalgam attack and related developments.
Sources said the BSF will continue to seek a field commander level meeting with the Rangers for an early release of the jawan.
They said, as per established protocol between the two sides, any such case of an armed personnel straying inadvertently is dealt with in a professional and prompt manner.
‘Bring my son home’
In the narrow lanes of Rishra’s neighbourhood, the modest home of BSF jawan Purnam Sahu – detained by Pakistan Rangers -echoes with silent prayers and tearful appeals, as his distraught family clings to hope and each other.
“He was serving the nation, and now we don’t even know whether he is safe or not. We have heard that he is in Pakistani custody,” said Bholanath Sahu, the jawan’s father, as neighbours stopped by to offer quiet words of solidarity. He said, “I just want to know where my son is. Is he safe? Is he okay?” Purnam Sahu, posted with the BSF’s 182nd battalion in Punjab’s Ferozepur sector, was reportedly in uniform and carrying his service rifle when he inadvertently crossed the border on Wednesday. (PTI)
