Zero FIR against Nagpur woman who was repatriated from Pakistan through Attari land route

The Punjab Police on Monday registered a zero FIR against Nagpur woman Sunita Bholeshwar Jamgade who was repatriated by Pakistan through the Attari-Wagah Joint Check Post (JCP) on Saturday.

Advertisement

SSP Maninder Singh confirmed that the FIR was registered under the Official Secrets Act on Monday.

She would be handed over to the Maharashtra police after preliminary investigations, he added.

On May 14, the mother of a teenager had entered Pakistan through Kargil border in Ladakh, alerting defence and intelligence sleuths. A multi-agency probe was initiated into the “disappearance” of the woman near the Line of Control (LoC) in Kargil along the Pakistan Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK).

The woman is suspected to have crossed Suru river from Hunderman village, reportedly to meet individuals she was in contact over social media in the Gilgit-Baltistan region.

The Kargil police launched a massive search operation near the Suru after Jamgade went missing on May 14.

Her 15-year-old son alerted locals about her disappearance. Initially, the local police and the Army were leading the investigation, but later other intelligence agencies also joined the probe.

Sources said drones and sniffer dogs were deployed to trace her in case she did not manage to cross the river. Her belongings from the hotel were used to aid the sniffer dogs in their search.

The Intelligence Bureau (IB) also conducted an investigation in her hometown Nagpur. Intelligence sources revealed that Sunita had married in 2007 reportedly against her parents’ wishes. She divorced in 2020 and began working as a nurse. In 2023, she moved to Mumbai with her son, residing in a rented house on Mira Road, but returned to her parents in Nagpur within a few months.

Before heading to Kargil, it was previously reported that Sunita had travelled to Attari a few weeks ago. There she allegedly inquired from a Border Security Force (BSF) guard about crossing over to the Pakistani side earlier this month. She was subsequently apprehended on suspicion and questioned.