This story is from November 19, 2019

One from Hyderabad among two held in Pakistan for illegal entry

Two Indian men have been arrested by Pakistani Rangers for illegally entering the country without travel documents.
One from Hyderabad among two held in Pakistan for illegal entry
Representative image
AMRITSAR/ HYDERABAD: Two Indian men have been arrested by Pakistani Rangers for illegally entering the country without travel documents.
Prashant Vaindam from Hyderabad and Dari Lal from Madhya Pradesh had allegedly crossed the border near Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan and entered the Cholistan desert area in the neighbouring country, sources said. Both were arrested on November 14 from Yahzaman Mandi in Bahawalpur district of Pakistan, they added.
It is not clear how the two men met and reached Pakistan together from Rajasthan.
According to Pakistan media reports, one of the arrested men is a software engineer. The reports claimed that the man could have been deliberately sent to Pakistan “for some operation”.
Paksitani officials said the two could not produce any documents.
The FIR registered by Bahawalpur district police said: “It is being informed that I, ASI Mohd Arsalan, along with constables Abdullah and Mohd Amjad was on patrol duty on a government vehicle in Tuba Bari where we received information through an informer that two persons, belonging to a foreign country, are present in the desert and may be nabbed if the place is raided immediately. On the basis of the clues provided by the informer, the two foreign nationals, who were hiding behind a hillock, were apprehended by us.”

The Pakistani police claimed that on interrogation the two Indians revealed their identity as Prashant, son of Babu Rao, and Dari Lal, son of Subi Lal. “They could not produce their identity cards/passports or any other relevant documents to the police. These two foreign nationals entered Pakistan from India without taking any permission from the Pakistan government authorities. They have been charged for offence under Section 3-4 of Pakistan (Control of Entry Act, 1952),” Pakistan authorities said.
During strong winds, sand dunes shift in Rajasthan and sometimes cover the barbed fence between India and Pakistan, causing people to lose track of their direction and, in a few cases, inadvertently entering Pakistan.
According to Intelligence sources in Delhi, Prashant is reported to have inadvertently crossed over to Pakistan in 2017 and was apprehended by Pakistan Rangers. His personal details along with photograph was also shared with Pakistan.
As per preliminary inquiry, Hyderabad police said though FIR mentions that Prashant is from Hyderabad, he is a native of Visakhapatnam. His brother, who lives in Kukatpally, told police that Prashant was in love with a girl in Madhya Pradesh and he went there to meet her, but crossed over to Pakistan inadvertently. On learning that the girl went to Switzerland, Prashant also decided to go to that country on foot.
Pakistan authorities have also released a one-minute video message of one of the men to his parents. Prashant, who looks cheerful in the video, is seen seeking permission from the police personnel to record his message to his parents in his mother tongue (Telugu) and the permission is granted immediately. “Are you recording, can I speak in my own mother tongue?” asks the man.
“Mummy and daddy are you fine? Everything is fine here, they brought me to court from police station. From jail, they (local Pakistan authorities) will coordinate with Indian embassy. I might be released a month’s time,” Prashant said.
Dari Lal is the sixth man from MP in recent years to go missing and mysteriously surface in Pakistan.
Madhya Pradesh police told TOI that they have not received any input on the arrest through official channels. “We have come to know about it through social media. Officers have been asked to check missing person’s reports here,” said an intelligence officer.
It may be recalled that Kulbhushan Jadhav, 49, a retired Indian Navy officer, arrested and sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of “espionage and terrorism” in April 2017 following which India had moved the International Court of Justice (ICJ), seeking a stay on his death sentence and further remedies.
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