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Released Indian prisoners recount Pak torture

He was just 18 years old when he accidentally strayed into Pakistani territory in the Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir on February 5, 1990. Since then he has been in jails across the border where he was repeatedly ''tortured and accused of being an Indian spy.''

This is the story of Naveen Sharma who returned to his motherland along with two other Indian prisoners through the Joint Check Post at Wagah on Wednesday. The other two, who were handed over to the Indian authorities are Bharat Bhushan, a resident of Kathua near Jammu, and Sukhwant Singh, a resident of Pahra village near Gurdaspur.

Due to the inhuman conditions in Pakistani jails and their harsh approach towards Indian prisoners, one of Naveen's kidneys got damaged. As for Bharat Bhushan, who had been apprehended by the Pakistan Rangers after he had strayed into Pakistani territory in the Samba sector in Jammu in February 1993, he is suffering from tuberculosis and can barely walk.

As soon as the three released prisoners crossed over into Indian territory, emotional scenes were witnessed as they were hugged by their relatives who had given up all hope of their return. Naveen's mother Chanchal Sharma, a cancer patient, embraced her son as tears flowed down her cheeks.

Talking to mediapersons at the JCP, the three prisoners alleged that they were repeatedly ''beaten up by Pakistani officials'' while they were behind bars and forced to confess their involvement in ''spying activities'' for India. They charged that Indians were particularly targeted by the Pakistani jail officials.

It was due to the efforts of the Indian government, the International Red Cross Society and the relatives of the prisoners that made their return to their native land possible. In fact, Naveen Sharma's parents were surprised when they were informed by the IRCS two months ago that their son was in a jail in Pakistan. They were under the impression that he had been killed by the Pakistanis near the border.

Naveen's father Yograj Sharma said that about a month back they received a letter from the Union home ministry informing them that their son was suffering from a kidney ailment and the Pakistan government had agreed to hand him over to India.

Bharat Bhushan who was employed on daily wages by the public health department in Kathua said that after crossing the border in 1993 he was arrested and taken to a number of ''unknown'' places where he was repeatedly tortured and made to confess that he was an Indian spy.

Lodged at the Kot Lakhpat jail near Lahore, Bhushan claimed that he contracted tuberculosis inside the jail as he was denied timely medical treatment and food. Bhushan's family, comprising his wife and three children, led a hand-to-mouth existence after the sole bread-earner of the family was arrested. Though they could not come to Wagah to receive him, his brother and cousins were present to welcome him back home.

Naveen was lodged in the Muzaffarabad central jail, where he was often singled out and thrashed by the jail officials. The case of Sukhwant Singh is different from the other two as he was arrested in Islamabad after he alighted from a flight from Dubai without valid travel documents two years ago. He too was accused of being an Indian spy and confined to a prison in Rawalpindi.

UNI

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