Hyderabad techie, Madhya Pradesh farmer held in Pakistan for illegal entry

Software engineer aimed to go to Turkey to meet girlfriend

November 19, 2019 11:18 pm | Updated November 20, 2019 09:10 am IST - LAHORE/Hyderabad

In custody:  Prashant Maidam, who hails from Hyderabad, entered Pakistan without valid documents.

In custody: Prashant Maidam, who hails from Hyderabad, entered Pakistan without valid documents.

Two Indian nationals, one from Telangana and the other from Madhya Pradesh, were arrested by the Pakistani police for illegally entering the country, authorities have confirmed.

Prashant Maidam, a software engineer from Hyderabad, and Durmi Lal, a farmer from Madhya Pradesh, were arrested in the Cholistan desert area in Bahawalpur, Punjab, last week, the police said.

The Bahawalpur police registered an FIR against them under the Pakistan (Control of Entry) Act on November 14.

They had crossed the border without any identification papers and proper documents, such as a valid visa and passport, said the police.

Sources said Mr. Maidam told them that he was in love with a woman in Turkey and was going there through Pakistan and Afghanistan. Mr. Lal wanted to see the border and crossed over by mistake.

Bahawalpur Judicial Magistrate Yazman asked the local police to travel to Multan and hand over the two Indians to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). Bahawalpur police sources confirmed to The Hindu that the two Indian nationals were thoroughly investigated and were sent back from Multan as the FIA doesn’t think this case falls under its jurisdiction.

The two are now back in the custody of the Bahawalpur police.

“Prashant is lucky he was arrested here. We don’t know what would have happened if he had gone to Afghanistan via Pakistan,” said one police officer.

Police sources said the two will most likely be repatriated after due process is followed. The Indian High Commission will have to get in touch with the police and initiate the process of repatriation.

Telangana police said Mr. Maidan has been missing from Hyderabad since April 2017. Cyberabad Police Commissioner V.C. Sajjanar said they have written to the State government, which will contact the Ministry of External Affairs seeking his extradition from Pakistan.

Earlier on Tuesday, Mr. Maidan’s father Babu Rao met Mr. Sajjanar and appealed to him to bring his son back. Two years ago when Mr. Maidan left for office and did not return home, his father lodged a complaint with the Madhapur police of Cyberabad and a man missing case was registered on April 11.

A father’s appeal

Mr. Rao said he got to know that his missing son was in Pakistan through news channels. “He was working in Bengaluru for one and a half years, before starting a new job at a software firm in Hyderabad,” he said, adding that their family moved to Hyderabad from Visakhapatnam in 2014. “The earlier our son is handed over to us, the happier we will be,” he said.

In a video message to his parents on Monday night, the techie said he would be released from jail within a month and would come home soon.

The arrest has left residents of Mithilapuri Colony, Visakhapatnam in a state of shock. “Their family lived for about five years in this Ganga Residency apartment and they were very close to us. Prasanth was nice to everyone and speaks in a friendly manner. He used to visit Vizag regularly, before he went missing,” said Ch Sai Baba, a resident.

(With inputs from Gilai Harish)

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