Family prays for his early return
PTI, NEW DELHI/ KOLKATA, APRIL 25, 2025 : Pakistan Rangers have refused to hand over a BSF jawan who inadvertently strayed across the border, for the third straight day on Friday, and have remained non-committal on his whereabouts, official sources said.
The jawan, Constable Purnam Sahu of the 182nd Battalion of the Border Security Force (BSF), was apprehended by the Rangers from a farming field along Punjab’s Ferozepur district on Wednesday. Sources told PTI that the BSF has made multiple efforts and sought flag meetings with the Rangers to secure the release of its jawan, but the response so far has “not been positive.”
The incident comes at a time when relations between the two countries have hit a new low following the Pahalgam terrorist attack that claimed 26 lives.
The BSF has alerted all its formations and instructed them to maintain “heightened vigil” along the 2,289-kilometre-long India-Pakistan border, stretching from Jammu in the north to Punjab, Rajasthan, and Gujarat in the west, in view of the Pahalgam attack and related developments.
Sources said the BSF will continue to pursue a field commander-level meeting with the Rangers for the jawan’s early release. They added that, as per established protocol between the two sides, any incident involving the inadvertent crossing of an armed personnel is typically dealt with professionally and promptly. “It is expected that the BSF jawan will be with his force very soon,” said the source.
Meanwhile, Sahu’s family in Hooghly, West Bengal, is praying for his safety and return.
“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 his father, Bholanath Sahu.
The jawan was escorting a group of farmers ahead of the border fence and had stepped a few meters away for a break under a tree when he was picked up by the Rangers, who claimed he breached the International Border (IB).
“My son had returned from leave just three weeks ago,” Bholanath said, his voice quivering. “Now he is gone again, and we don’t know what will happen next — when he will be back home.”
In their cramped two-room house in Hooghly, Purnam’s wife Rajani has barely spoken since receiving the news.
“He called me Tuesday night,” she said in a hushed voice. “That was the last time I heard his voice.”
The couple’s seven-year-old son has been kept indoors, unaware of the gravity of the situation.
“How do I explain this to a child?” Rajani asked, breaking down. “He keeps asking when his father will be back.”
The family learned about the incident not from official sources but from one of Purnam’s colleagues.
“A friend of his called around 8 p.m. on Wednesday and told us what had happened,” Rajani said. “Since then, we have had no sleep. We just want him back.”
Bholanath recalled trying to call his son earlier that day.
“There was no response. I thought maybe he was busy. But later, his friend told us he wasn’t feeling well and was taking a rest under a tree. That’s when they (Pakistan Rangers) picked him up,” he said.
The timing of the incident, just a day after the deadly militant attack in Pahalgam, has only intensified tensions between the two nations.
While officials maintain that such accidental crossings are not unheard of and are typically resolved through diplomatic channels, the family fears the worst.
Outside the Sahu household, a crowd of concerned locals and television crews has gathered. Inside, the family sits in quiet agony.
“We have just one request to the government. Bring him home. Whatever it takes — just bring him home,” Rajani said.
