Six days on, Pakistan yet to communicate with India whereabouts of detained BSF jawan

Rajani Shah, wife of BSF jawan P.K. Sahu, who was detained by Pakistan Rangers after inadvertently crossing the international border, arrives at Chandigarh airport to meet BSF officials at Ferozepur in Punjab on April 28, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI

The Pakistan Rangers is yet to communicate with the Border Security Force (BSF) the whereabouts of a jawan who was detained six days ago after he inadvertently strayed into the neighbouring country, a senior government official said on Monday (April 28, 2025).

The jawan, P.K. Sahu, a resident of West Bengal, had crossed four or five metres into Pakistan, the official said, adding that unlike the usual practice, the Pakistan Rangers was yet to send a protest note to the BSF regarding the incident. A protest note is generally sent within a few hours of such incident.

The official said that multiple flag meetings had been held with the Pakistan Rangers, but they were yet to know the whereabouts of Mr. Sahu.

“There is very thin deployment of Pakistani Rangers along the border. The border is not regularly guarded by them. On the day of the incident, they appeared at the scene and informed that they have apprehended the constable before taking him away,” the official said.

Mr. Sahu, of the 182nd battalion, was apprehended by the Pakistan Rangers across the Ferozepur border on April 23, a day after the Pahalgam terror attack, while he was accompanying farmers beyond the fence. Farmers are allowed to cultivate land up to the zero line, the international boundary, as the fence and border gates are positioned around 150 yards away. No kind of defence construction is allowed in the open area beyond the fence.

“Meetings are being held with Pakistani Rangers but it appears that the jawan has been taken away from the Rangers post. His current whereabouts are not known,” said the official.

Last week, the Pakistani media had released two photos, one showing Mr. Sahu in blindfold and the other with his service rifle and belt laid on the ground.