Mumbai: The family of the Indian soldier, who was released by Pakistan on Friday, could not believe the neighbouring country’s unique gesture. “We want to see him at least once to ascertain that he is well. Immediately after his arrest in Pakistan, my grandmother suffered a heart attack and died. We haven’t yet overcome that shock.
At least by seeing him once, there would be some relief for our family,” said Bhushan Chavan, brother of Chandu Chavan, the 22-year-old Indian soldier, who had on September 29 inadvertently crossed over to the other side of the Line of Control (LoC).
Following which, Pakistan had been informed by the DGMO on the hotline. In a goodwill gesture, after months of tense ties, Pakistan on Saturday returned Mr Chavan to India.
Soon after the news broke about Chandu Chavan crossing the LOC, his grandmother Lila Chindha Patil died of shock. Family members said they want to see him once after Chandu came back in India.
Mr Bhushan added, “We came to know about Chandu crossing the LOC on the night of the same day. All of us in the family were sad, and since then none of us was able to sleep or eat properly. I met MoS, defence, Subhash Bhamre, and he helped us a lot. He himself did follow-ups with everyone. The Modi government, external ministry and defence department had contacted Pakistan continuously, because of which my brother is coming back. Our last wish is that once Chandu comes back, we want to do the last rituals of our grandmother in Nashik.”
As per an external affairs ministry release, Pakistan handed over Mr Chavan to the authorities on the January-21 afternoon at 2:30pm through the Wagah border.
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis tweeted, “Very happy that our brave son from Dhule, Maharashtra #Chandu-Chavan returns back to India. Sincere thanks to GoI for the great efforts!”
