A tribal man from Odisha who had wandered off the border into Pakistan two decades ago will be returning home this month after spending 20 years in a jail in Lahore.
Forty-five-year-old Birju Kulu of Jangatoli village of Sundargarh district had gone missing from his home almost 24 years ago under mysterious circumstances. He was said to be mentally unstable and was then working in a hotel in Ranchi. However, the family did not file any missing persons report with local police and did not pursue the matter.
“No one knows for sure how he reached Pakistan. But he seems to have somehow reached Amritsar and from there wandered off the border. He was caught by Pakistan authorities and treated as a prisoner of war. The family did not have any inkling of him till he was handed over to Indian authorities at the border on October 26 as per the usual practice of handing over of such prisoners who are not involved in any criminal activities,” said Sundargarh’s superintendent of police Sagarika Nath.
Nath said she received a call last week from the ministry of external affairs about Kulu’s release from a jail in Lahore and was asked to get his family address checked as he had given his Sundargarh address to Pakistani authorities. The Sundargarh police then enquired about Kulu and informed the family that he had “inadvertently” crossed into Pakistan and spent 20 years in Lahore jail on suspicion of being a spy.
Officials said his family had given up all hope of seeing him again. “His parents have died in the meanwhile. Only his sister and uncles are alive. His elder sister was very happy when the district administration officials informed her about Birju’s whereabouts,” said Biswajit Mohapatra, additional district magistrate of Sundargarh.
Kulu’s sister spoke with her brother over a video call. Mohapatra said Kulu is now undergoing treatment at a hospital in Amritsar after testing positive for Covid-19.
“Once he is discharged from the hospital, we would make arrangements to bring him back to his village,” he said.
