Kolkata, 26 April

Senior Trinamool Congress leader and MP Kalyan Banerjee on Saturday claimed he has spoken to the Director General of the Border Security Force (BSF) regarding the detention of jawan Purnam Kumar Sahu by the Pakistan Rangers and was assured that efforts are underway to bring him back safely.

The jawan, Constable Purnam Sahu of the 182nd Border Security Force (BSF), was apprehended by the Rangers from a farming field along the Ferozepur district of Punjab on Wednesday. Sahu is a resident of West Bengal.

"I just spoke with the DG BSF regarding the detention of Purnam Kumar Shaw by the Pakistan Army. He informed me that all relevant government agencies and officials are making every possible effort to secure his return to India," Banerjee said in a post on X.

The BSF chief conveyed to him that while Pakistan is taking some time, they are expected to hand over the jawan to India, eventually.

"He also assured me that Purnam is currently safe and in good health in Pakistan," Banerjee added.

Pakistan Rangers refused to hand over a BSF jawan, who inadvertently strayed to the other side, for the third straight day on Friday and remained non-committal on his whereabouts, official sources said.

According to BSF officials, he had stepped away to rest under a tree and unknowingly entered Pakistani territory, where he was detained by the Pakistan Rangers.

In Rishra, Hooghly district, Sahu's family remains anxious and distraught.

"He was serving the nation, and now we don't even know whether he is safe," the jawan's father Bholanath Sahu said, as neighbours continued to visit their modest home offering words of solidarity.

He said that he has also received a phone call from the authorities who informed him that the process to bring his son back to India is on. They, however, did not give any deadline, Sahu said.

"He had visited home three weeks ago and went back to work," he added.

The jawan's wife Rajani, who has barely spoken since receiving the news, recalled, "He called me on Tuesday night. That was the last time I heard his voice."

Their seven-year-old son, unaware of the gravity of the situation, continues to ask when his father will return.

The family first learned of the incident through one of Sahu's colleagues.

"A friend of his called around 8 pm on Wednesday and told us what happened," Rajani said.

The incident has heightened anxieties as it occurred just a day after a deadly militant attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam claimed 26 lives.

"We only request the government to bring him home. Whatever it takes, just bring him back," Rajani said before breaking down in tears.