E-Paper
J&K man, now 40, returns after languishing 18 years in Pak
A 40-year-old man has returned to India through the Attari-Wagah border after languishing for 18 years in Pakistan
A 40-year-old man has returned to India through the Attari-Wagah border after languishing for 18 years in Pakistan.
Dharam Singh, a resident of Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district, had inadvertently crossed over to the neighboring country’s territory through the Samba border in 2003.
Pakistani rangers handed over Dharam Singh to the Border Security Force officials (BSF) on Monday night. He has now been sent to Amritsar’s Guru Nanak Dev hospital’s quarantine facility where he will stay for the next 14 days.
“Dharam was 22-year-old when he had inadvertently crossed the border in 2003. Pakistan police had registered a case against him. He was lodged in Kot Lakhpat jail of Lahore after a court there announced a 14-year jail term to him. Besides completing his sentence, Dharam languished for another 4 years in Pakistan,” said Punjab Police’s protocol officer at Attari border, Arunpal Singh.
Dharam was medically checked after his customs and immigration formalities were completed at the border. Naib tehsildar (revenue official) Jagsir Singh from Chogawan block had received Dharam from the BSF.
“Dharam will be handed over to his family members once his 14-day quarantine period is over,” said an official of Amritsar district administration.
