The family of 19-year-old Gemra Ram Meghwal, the Rajasthan teen who accidentally crossed the border, remain in constant worry that their son is likely being tortured by Pakistani authorities.
Gemra Ram Meghwal, a resident of Kumharo Ka Tibba along the India-Pakistan international border, had gone missing from his home in November.
Last week, he was found to be captured in Pakistan.
Now, Meghwal’s parents worry that he might be subjected to inhuman torture by Pakistani authorities.
On Thursday, they along with local BJP leaders met the District Collector and demanded that the teen be brought back from Pakistan at the earliest.
According to Rajasthan police, the teen used to often visit his girlfriend’s house in the neighbourhood and one such day, on seeing her parents, he ran for his life and somehow crossed over to Pakistan where Pakistani Rangers arrested and jailed him.
The Pakistan authorities have confirmed his custody with their police.
Meghwal’s family had lodged a complaint with the local police in November itself but no action was taken. His family members lodged a complaint with the Bijrad police station on November 16 but he remained untraceable. The family has expressed fear over the treatment that might be meted out to their son across the border.
For his ageing mother, today was the first time she stepped out of her village bounds — to meet the collector and plead with him for her son’s release. Overcome with emotion, she broke down outside the collector’s office. “If this my condition, imagine what my son who is trapped in a foreign land must be feeling,” she told anyone who listened.
Meanwhile, an official from the Border Security Force (BSF) said, “We held a flag meeting with Pakistan Rangers to check in case the boy had crossed over to Pakistan. After several meetings, they confirmed his custody with the Sindh police in Pakistan.”
He said the Pakistan Rangers informed that he will be handed over after completion of legal formalities. How he entered Pakistan will be known after his return to India, he added.
(with inputs from Dinesh Bohra in Barmer)