Engineer jailed for 5 yrs in Pak returns home to warm welcome

32-year-old Bhavesh Parmar, who was jailed in Pakistan for five years after he "inadvertently" crossed over to the country in 2007 by Samjhauta Express, returned home to a warm welcome here today.

"It feels good to be back. I am happy," Bhavesh, a software engineer, told reporters after his arrival at the Mumbai airport. His mother Hansa Kanti, who had gone to receive him at the Wagah border yesterday, said he immediately recognised her despite a five-year-long gap.

"There was too much of crowd. However, he recognised me when we had a first eye-contact when he crossed over into the Indian territory," Kanti told reporters at her residence in suburban Vile Parle.

Bhavesh, who was accompanied by local MLA Krishna Hegde and MP Priya Dutt from Delhi, returned home in the presence of his neighbours, who cheered his home-coming. They garlanded him and also distributed sweets.

His mother thanked Vile Parle MLA Krishna Hegde and MP Priya Dutt for their help. She, however, said that her son was finding it difficult to communicate as he was "giving short answers without constructing a sentence."

"He was very talkative earlier. But he is a bit reluctant to talk now," she said. According to her, Bhavesh had gone into depression after his father died in 2006. "He suffered a double-blow. Since his father was ill, he had to quit from a multi-national company. But in two months time his father passed away and he went into depression as he was unemployed too," she recalled.

Meanwhile, Hegde said that if Bhavesh was facing any psychological problems, he was ready to bear the expenses of the treatment.