JAMMU, JULY 27: Pakistani Rangers on Saturday handed over the body of an Indian youth from Jammu and Kashmir to the BSF to enable his family perform his last rites as per their religion.
Identified as Harash Nagotra, in his early 20s, the deceased had gone missing on June 11 from his hometown of Jourian in Jammu district.
According to police sources, the deceased had jumped into river Chenab and his body was swept by the river waters to Pakistan where he was buried by the civil authorities there.
The deceased’s family members, they were yesterday asked by the local Army unit in Jourian to reach the BSF’s Octroi Post along the international border in Suchetgarh area of R S Pura Sector at 4.30 pm Saturday to receive the body of Harash.
The body was handed over by the Pakistan Rangers to their BSF counterpart and SHO R S Pura Police Station. After legal formalities, it was finally handed over to deceased’s father Subash Sharma, a daily wager in PWD, around 6.30 pm.
As he got the body of his deceased son, he expressed gratitude to both the Governments of India and also that of Pakistan, saying that the family will now be able to perform last rites of the deceased as per their religion.
Harash was the eldest of Subash’s two sons. On June 11 morning, he left for office and did not return. As his mobile phone was found switched off and all efforts to locate him did not yield any result, the family had lodged a missing complaint at Khour police station next morning.
However, his motorcycle was found abandoned at Gurah Manhasa area.
After weeks of finding no clue regarding his son’s disappearance, Subash decided to get a duplicate of Harash’s SIM card issued. It was when the SIM got activated on July 12 that the family discovered it had been getting constant messages and calls from a number in Pakistan. The messages informing of Harash’s death also included photos of the ID card found on his body.
Subash said he called the number and the man at the other end identified himself as an official of the “post-mortem department” in Pakistan. The latter told him that Harash’s body had been found in a canal across the border, and that it had been buried there.
Subash had then sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring his son’s remains back home. “We appeal to our PM to help us in getting back the body of our son for last rites as per our religion,” he had said.
The local BJP Lok Sabha MP, Jugal Kishore, had recently called on External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar seeking his intervention to get Harash’s body home for last rite.
