Kargil man detained for aiding Nagpur woman suspected of crossing into PoK

A man has been detained by Kargil police for allegedly assisting a Nagpur woman, Sunita Bholewshwar Jamgade, 43, who is suspected to have crossed into Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) from Hunderman village in Ladakh.

The village, located along the Line of Control (LoC), has become the centre of attention, with senior Army and police officials, making multiple visits since the woman was reported missing from the area on May 14.

Police investigation revealed that Sunita was dropped near the village by a Kargil resident who is now in custody of the police. Authorities are probing whether he was unaware of her intentions of crossing the LoC or was complicit in her plans. She was also reportedly given some money by him.

Sources in intelligence said that Sunita was in contact with two phone numbers operating in Gilgit-Baltistan region of PoK. Weeks earlier, she had been detained by a BSF personnel in Amritsar, where she had expressed an intent to cross the border from Attari. At the time, it was discovered that she was in contact with two mobile numbers via WhatsApp with contacts saved as – ‘Zulfiquar Dubani’ and ‘O Pakistani Church Asif Masqun’.

Both numbers were found to be operating on China Mobile Pakistan Ltd (CMPak) network.

The Ladakh region shares cultural similarities with Gilgit-Baltistan region of the PoK, particularly with the Kargil area on the Indian side of the LoC.

Sunita has left behind a 15-year-old minor son, who is now in the care of the local administration, awaiting the arrival of family members from Maharashtra.

Further investigation revealed that she had previously visited Nepal and Bhutan. At Attari, Nepali and UAE currency were recovered from her.

Intelligence sources said that before reaching Attari, Sunita had initially tried to reach Ladakh from J&K. She travelled from Maharashtra to New Delhi and then took a train for Katra. After reaching Katra, she was guided by locals to Udhampur, then on to Banihal.

“She then reached Srinagar and then went to Sonamarg where she stayed in a hotel. She intended to go to Kargil from Sonamarg but was not allowed due to poor weather conditions. Thereafter, she decided to go to Pakistan via Attari in Amritsar,” a source said, adding that after being denied entry and questioned by intelligence agencies, she may have retracted her route back to Ladakh.