KOLKATA: The wife of BSF constable Purnam Kumar Sahu, who has been detained by Pakistan Rangers, claimed that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee spoke to her over the phone and assured her of every effort to secure the release of the Border Security Force personnel.
Rajani, wife of the BSF jawan, said the chief minister called her over the phone on Sunday evening after she expressed her desire to meet Banerjee to seek the CM's intervention to expedite her husband's release.
Forty-year-old Sahu, posted in Punjab's Ferozepur sector, inadvertently crossed the international border on April 23 and was subsequently taken into custody by Pakistan Rangers.
"The chief minister also enquired about my health and assured me of medical assistance for my elderly in-laws if required. She also assured me of every effort to secure my husband's release." Rajani, a resident of Rishra in West Bengal's Hooghly district, told reporters.
Rajni also said she had spoken to BSF officials, in the wake of the recent military standoff between India and Pakistan, but was yet to receive any further update.
The wife of the BSF personnel said she is hopeful that her husband could be brought back through a possible swap with a Pakistani Ranger who was apprehended by Indian forces in Rajasthan on May 3.
Senior TMC leader and MP Kalyan Banerjee, who has been asked by the state government to follow up on the matter, said he had already spoken to the director general of BSF on Saturday evening on Sahu's release.