After 21 Days, Pakistan Hands Over BSF Jawan To India

After 21 days, Pakistan on Wednesday handed over BSF jawan Purnam Kumar Shaw, apprehended on April 23, to India via the Attari-Wagah border front in Punjab, a statement from the Public Relations Officer, Punjab Frontier, Border Security Force said.

On April 23, the BSF Constable had accidentally crossed the border during his duty and remained in the Pakistan Rangers' custody since then.

The BSF's Statement

In a statement, the BSF said: "Today at 1030 hrs Constable Purnam Kumar Shaw has been taken back from Pakistan by BSF at Attari - Wagha border. Constable Purnam Kumar Shaw had inadvertently crossed over to Pakistan territory, while on operational duty in area of Ferozepur sector on 23rd April 2025 around 1150 hrs and detained by Pak Rangers. With the consistent efforts of BSF through regular flag meetings with Pakistan Rangers and through other communication channels, the repatriation of BSF Constable has become possible."

The development comes at a time when India and Pakistan had engaged in skirmishes last week after New Delhi launched Operation Sindoor to eliminate the terror infrastructure in Pakistan and the Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.

West Bengal Chief Minister had earlier expressed concern over the BSF constable from Hoogly and said that Trinamool Congress leader Kalyan Banerjee was in touch with the family members.

The Bengal CM said, "This is extremely sad situation. His name is Sahu. Our party's Kalyan Banerjee is in touch with the family members. I want that he should be rescued as soon as possible. We have clearly said that our party is with the government on the issues of internal and external security. We are not doing divide and rule here."

The BSF, which comes under the Ministry of Home Affairs, is the world's largest border security force and considered the First Line of Defence of Indian territories. It is primarily responsible for securing the 3,323 km long India-Pakistan border, which spans from Jammu and Kashmir (including parts of the LoC), Punjab, Rajasthan, and Gujarat.