Pakistan handed over BSF Jawan Purnam Kumar Shaw to India on Wednesday morning.

Shaw had been in the custody of the Pakistan Rangers since 23 April. He was released around 10.30am at the check post in Attari, Amritsar.

“The handover was conducted peacefully and in accordance with established protocols,” a BSF source said.

“We are very happy today. We thank the central government and the BSF authorities for their efforts in safely bringing him back. The past two weeks have been filled with sleepless nights and uncertainty for us. We were constantly worried about his well-being,” a family member of Shaw told reporters.

“We are now eagerly waiting to speak to him and see him in person. Our prayers have finally been answered,” he said.

Bengal’s leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, had on Monday said the BJP had been in touch with Shaw’s family and the Union government to ensure his release from Pakistani custody as soon as possible.

On Sunday, Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee had spoken to Rajni Shaw, the pregnant wife of the BSF jawan, assuring her of the government’s efforts to secure her husband’s release from the custody of the adversary country.

Shaw, 37, a resident of Rishra in Hooghly and a head constable with the 182nd battalion, “inadvertently” crossed the border near Firozpur on April 23 and was taken into custody by the Pakistan Rangers.

Despite multiple meetings before Operation Sindoor, the jawan was not released, leaving his family in Bengal in distress.

His three-month pregnant wife, Rajni Shaw, had travelled to Pathankot to request BSF officers to help secure her husband’s release.

India also has a Pakistani Ranger in custody.