Mentally challenged man returns home from Pakistan 11 years after
Punvasi Lal walked into his home in Uttar Pradesh's Mirzapur on Tuesday, eleven years after he slipped into the Pakistani territory. Lal, who is mentally unsound, had inadvertently crossed into the Pakistani side when he lost his way along the Indo-Pak border in Rajasthan in 2010. He spent the next 11 years in a jail in Lahore after he was charged for unauthorized entry.
Man returns home from Pakistan after 11 years
Establishing his identity and bringing him back home
The process for Lal's return started five years ago when the then Varanasi District Magistrate received a letter from the central government. However, the administration failed to locate his native place. In 2020, his native place was found in Bharuhana village under the Kotwali Dehat police station. His sister Kiran identified him through his picture establishing Lal's identity, making way for his return.
Homecoming, happy faces and tearful smiles
He was handed over to the Border Security Force (BSF) by the Pakistani authorities at the Atari border on November 17, 2020. The district authorities sent a police constable along with his sister and brother-in-law to Amritsar to bring him home. On arrival, he was welcomed by officiating District Magistrate Avanish Kumar Singh and Superintendent of Police, Mirzapur, Ajay Kumar Singh.
