BHOPAL: The New Year began on a memorable note for the Gupta family residing in Shahdol district who is set to reunite with their lost son Ravendra Gupta, who returned to India after languishing in Pakistan's Lahore jail for over a decade.
Almost 17 years back, the eldest among the three brothers, young Ravendra alias Raju Gupta left his home in search of a job at Mumbai and Surat. He remained in touch with the family for a few years, but then lost all contact with them.
Six months ago, Raju’s family came to know that their son was languishing in Lahore Jail since the past couple of years.
The family reported the matter to the Shahdol district police, which subsequently informed the matter to state PHQ in Bhopal.
To set the ball rolling for Raju's release the case was then reported by the Madhya Pradesh government to the central government and then to the Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi.
Now, the family who had lost all hopes of seeing or meeting their lost son again is set reunite with Raju, who was recently handed over by the Pakistani authorities to the Indian authorities at the Wagah border.
“We recently came to know from the Shahdol district collector about Raju having been released from Pakistani jail and handed over to Indian authorities on the Wagah border.
He is presently in Amritsar and we’ve sent his family members with a local police team to bring him back to native Shahdol district,” additional SP of Shahdol district Mukesh Vaishya told The New Indian Express.
Elated over her lost son’s return, Raju’s teary-eyed mother Raimun Gupta said, “I’d lost all hopes of seeing my son again, but this New Year has begun on a memorable note for us. We can't wait to meet Raju and bring him back home.”
According to sources close to Raju’s family, the youngster went to look for a job in Mumbai and Surat 17 years ago, but subsequently went missing and mysteriously landed up in Lahore Jail in Pakistan.
“We don’t know how he landed in Pakistan Jail. His family came to know about him being lodged in a Pakistan jail some six to seven months ago, after which they reported about it to local police here,” a close relative of Gupta family said.
Sources close to family also claimed that Raju is unable to speak and has become mentally disturbed, perhaps due to extreme torture in the Pakistan jail.