Rajasthan man, missing since 1982, traced to Pakistan prison

Yash Goyal

Jaipur, May 23 

Makhani Devi, 70, had lost all hopes that her husband would be alive as he had disappeared 36 years ago from the small village Maharkalan in Jaipur’s Samod area. 

Makhani and her two sons were stunned earlier this month when a policeman approached them for verification of nationality of Gajananad, who was traced to a Pakistan jail. 

“Hume khushi to itni hai ki Pitaji mil gaye, chahe Pakistan mein, magar bhram aur dar ka mahol hai ki vo ghar kaise ayenge (Our happiness knows no bounds that father is found, even if in Pakistan, still fearful and confused how he is going to come back home)”, Mukesh Sharma, who was 12 when his father went missing in 1982, told The Tribune on Thursday.

“We all do not know when and how my father disappeared from our village. My mother is illiterate and approached the police station, searched everywhere but to no avail. She had not lodged an FIR. Slowly we all came to a decision that he is not alive,” Mukesh, who is now a 4th class employee in the state’s Family Welfare Department, said. 

“We will approach the state government and also the Central Government especially Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, who helps Indians are stuck abroad. But we do not know still how he will be back as we have no official paper in hand concerning my father,” he said. 

On May 1, the Ministry of External Affairs sent a letter to confirm the nationality and whereabouts of Gajanand Sharma to the state Intelligence (CID) who marked the inquiry to the Samod police station.

Meanwhile, Gajanand’s family had moved to Jaipur’s Brahampuri area and left the village.

Samod police finally traced the family and confirmed that Gajanand Sharma was presently lodged in a Pakitan jail, a senior cop told The Tribune. 

“On May 18, Samod police SP (Jaipur Rural) Rameshwar Singh had verified to us Gajanand’s nationality and present location of the family in Jaipur’s Brahampuri area. Now IB has marked the inquiry for further verification to DCP-North here, then after receiving it, a report would be submitted to the MEA,” the cop said. 

“The reasons of Gajanand’s disappearance and lodging in Pakistan jail are not known to Rajasthan Intelligence department and IB can not comment on any related questions as we have done a verification job of a person on MEA’s letter,” he said.