Fazilka: Youth gone missing near border remains untraced

A married youth Amritpal Singh (23), who went missing on June 21 in border village Khaire ke Uttar under the Amir Khas police station of Fazilka district, has not been traced so far.

Sources said Amritpal had gone across the fencing for routine agriculture works, but did not return.

There is strong apprehension that the youth might have inadvertently crossed over to Pakistan.

In this regard, Company Commandant of the 160 Battalion of the Border Security Force (BSF) has shot off a letter to the SHO police station Amir Khas that Amritpal Singh went ahead of the fence in the area of Border Outpost Rana for routine agriculture works on June 21.

According to the letter, the farmer had not returned till the closing of the gate.

The letter says that footprints of a person going towards the Pakistan side were found, suggesting a possible inadvertent border crossing by the farmer.

In view of the circumstances, the BSF has sought the registration of a first information report (FIR) in this regard.

Jugraj Singh, father of the missing youth who has a three-month-old daughter, said today that his son used to look after about 8.5 acres of their family land falling across the fencing. He went across the fencing at about noon on his bike and worked for whole on June 21, but disappeared in the evening near the International Border (IB).

He said the BSF had extended them full support to locate Amritpal by opening the frisking gate before the dusk that day. Jugraj Singh said the BSF officers also held a meeting with their Pakistan counterparts, who reportedly said that nobody was traceable in their territory despite the presence of footprints.

The parents of Amritpal have, meanwhile, sought the help of the higher authorities, including the Ministry of Home Affairs, to bring their son back from Pakistan.

Sukhwinder Singh Kaka Kamboj, president, Fazilka district BJP, said they had contacted BJP state President Sunil Jakhar and BJP leader Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi who, in turn, contacted the MHA officers, demanding the return of Amritpal Singh.