A Pakistani Ranger was detained by the Border Security Force (BSF) personnel in Rajasthan's Sri Ganganagar on Saturday (May 3). He was apprehended while attempting to infiltrate the border. Pakistani Ranger was caught by BSF from the Bahawalpur sector while he was spying in the nearby areas.
This action was taken in a tit for tat move as a BSF constable remains in Pakistan’s custody for over a week and his fate continues to remain uncertain.
Last week, Purnam Kumar Shaw, the BSF constable who inadvertently crossed over the border into Pakistan last Wednesday, was taken into custody. Several rounds of talks have been held for over eight days regarding his safe release, however, they have yielded no results for now.
BSF lodged protest with Pak Rangers on jawan's apprehension
BSF has lodged a protest with Pakistan Rangers in the case of apprehension of a jawan a week back after he had mistakenly crossed the international border in Punjab. Earlier such inadvertent crossings on either side were resolved quickly, but this time the Pakistani side has remained "non-committal" on the whereabouts and the date of return of the jawan which could be due to rising India-Pakistan tensions after the Pahalgam attack, they said.The border force has also instituted an inquiry into the incident where Constable Purnam Kumar Shaw of the 24th battalion was caught by the Rangers on April 23 after the jawan inadvertently crossed the IB along the Ferozepur district. Officials told media that a protest note has been sent to Pakistan Rangers and they have remained non-committal on the whereabouts and the date of return of the jawan.
About 4-5 flag meetings have taken place between the two sides but there is no final word on his return. A protest note has been given to the sector commander of the Rangers by the BSF, the officials said. They said that the jawan is understood to have been moved to a Rangers' base along the Lahore-Amritsar sector and may be handed over to the BSF soon. The Rangers have maintained a stoic silence and have neither issued a protest note nor communicated about his condition, they said.
Social media handles from Pakistan had issued pictures of Shaw last week where he was seen blindfolded and sitting in a vehicle and standing under a tree with his rifle, magazine with bullets, belt and other belongings kept on the ground, according to officials. The jawan was part of the 'Kisan Guard' that was deployed for the protection of Indian farmers who till their land near the border fence and the trooper apparently "miscalculated" the alignment of the IB and stepped on the other side to rest under a nearby tree from where he was apprehended by the Rangers, officials said.
Meanwhile, Shaw's pregnant wife and son reached Punjab on Monday and met senior officers of his unit who assured her that he would be back soon, they said.
"Efforts are on to secure his release. Possibly the Pakistani establishment is weighing its options given the current state of situation between the two countries in the backdrop of the Pahalgam terrorist attack. Earlier, such inadvertent crossings on either side were resolved quickly," a senior officer said. Shaw hails from Rishra in Hooghly district of West Bengal.
