India and Pakistan on Wednesday released each other’s border-guarding personnel from captivity, including BSF constable from Bengal Purnam Kumar Shaw, in a “goodwill gesture” days after the two countries reached an understanding on the cessation of military action.
Shaw was handed over to India around 10.30am on Wednesday, three weeks after he was detained by the Pakistan Rangers.
A Pakistan Ranger trooper apprehended by the BSF from the Rajasthan border on May 3 was handed over an hour after Shaw was released at the Wagah-Attari border.
“Today at 10.30am, constable Purnam Kumar Shaw has been taken back from Pakistan by the BSF at the Attari-Wagah border. Shaw had inadvertently crossed over to the Pakistan territory while on operational duty in the Ferozepur sector on April 23 around 11.50am and detained by the Pak Rangers,” the BSF said in a statement.
Sources said Shaw, captured a day after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, is undergoing a medical check-up and will later be subjected to “debriefing” sessions.
Debriefing is a structured discussion and review process, commonly used in the armed forces, to extract specific information and details of experience from individuals about captivity.
In Hooghly’s Rishra, Shaw’s wife Rajni said: “I am so happy, my ordeal has ended. He made a video call from a colleague’s phone and we spoke for a few minutes. He said he is safe and asked me to relax. I thank everyone, including our chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and all those who stood by us during this time of crisis.”
(See Metro)
A BSF official said Shaw would be asked “relevant questions” by BSF officials about his 21-day detention and would not be drafted into active duty immediately. He is also likely to be part of an official inquiry instituted by the Punjab frontier of the BSF to look into the sequence of events leading to his capture by the Pakistan Rangers and investigate lapses, if any.
“According to protocol, he will face interrogations by senior BSF officials as he was in the enemy’s custody. He will be asked what happened during his captivity and whether he was indoctrinated by Pakistan. He will be asked to narrate the entire sequence of events after he crossed over into Pakistani territory,” said a BSF official.
Officials questioning Shah would try to find out if he had been tortured to give out classified information. “The objective of the debriefing is to ascertain what information was obtained from him by the enemy,” the official said.
Shaw was part of the “Kisan Guard” that was deployed for the protection of Indian farmers. The trooper apparently “miscalculated” the alignment of the international border and crossed it to rest under a tree when he was apprehended, sources said.
In 2019, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, an Indian Air Force pilot, was debriefed after being released having spent 48 hours in Pakistan captivity.