However, he ended up at the Joint Interrogation Centre (JIC) in Bhuj, the only one of its kind in the state.
Love for India and the desire to be with his relatives here prompted 14-year-old Manvar Tagaji Tawat Meghwar from Pakistan to cross the border for the second time. However, he ended up at the Joint Interrogation Centre (JIC) in Bhuj, the only one of its kind in the state.
Meghwar, who hails from Karbo village of Nagarparkar taluka of Thaparkar district in Sindh, claims that he crossed the border to be with his relatives. However, his story does not seem to have convinced interrogating officials of intelligence and security agencies. "Meghwar was caught by the BSF at Bela-Sindh border in eastern Kutch last week and handed over to the Eastern Kutch district police. We sent him to JIC for detailed interrogation by various central and state security agencies this week to know the truth," said L D Vaghodia, incharge of Special Operations Group of Eastern Kutch police on Wednesday.
Sources in the police said that Meghwar was nabbed by the same BSF personnel in September 2010 and lodged in the JIC as a juvenile offender. He was deported to Pakistan recently, more than a year after his arrest. It was revealed during preliminary investigation that at that time he had talked about a maternal uncle in Tharad in Banaskantha district. Sources said that since the border between Banaskantha and Sindh province of Pakistan has been fenced now, Meghwar jumped the fence and illegally entered the Indian territory.
It may be noted that Kutch and Sindh had trade and roti-beti relations (exchange of bread and daughters across the border) before the partition. Sindh still has a sizeable Kutchi population. As a result, there have been a number of instances when innocent Pakistanis have illegally crossed the Sindh-Kutch border either to be with their families or inadvertently strayed on this side of the border.
The senior official handling Meghwar's case was recently transferred to Bhuj. On being informed of these traditions, he said that he would keep these factors in mind while interrogating the young boy. He, however, expressed concern about tackling such cases. "We are all aware of the condition of present day Pakistan. We cannot afford to take such things lightly."
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