23-year-old farmer feared missing across India-Pak border in Punjab's Fazilka, BSF traces footprints

Fazilka: A 23-year-old farmer from a border village in Punjab's Fazilka district has gone missing along the Indo-Pak border, with officials suspecting that he might have inadvertently crossed over.

The missing farmer, Amritpal Singh, a resident of Khaire ke Uttar village, was last seen on June 21 after he went to tend his farmland located across the fencing near Border Outpost (BOP) Rana under BSF supervision.

According to sources, Singh failed to return before the gate was scheduled to close around 5 pm. Border Security Force (BSF) personnel later found human footprints heading towards the Pakistani side, raising the possibility of an unintentional border crossing.

In a letter to the Station House Officer of Amir Khas police station, the BSF has sought registration of an FIR and mentioned the sequence of events, including Singh crossing the gate around noon.

The BSF also held a flag meeting with Pakistani Rangers who, according to officials, denied any sightings of an unknown person.

Singh, a married man and father of a three-month-old daughter, owned around 8.5 acres of farmland located beyond the border fencing on the Indian side.

Amritpal left on his bike that afternoon but did not return in the evening, his father Jugraj Singh said. The BSF even reopened the frisking gate before dusk in search of him, but he could not be found, he added.

During summer months, farmers are allowed to access land between the barbed-wire fence and the international border under strict BSF monitoring between 8 am and 5 pm.

Several farmers from border districts including Fazilka, Ferozepur, Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Amritsar and Tarn Taran have agricultural land in this area, known as the "zero line." The family has now appealed to the Ministry of Home Affairs and other top authorities for urgent intervention.

Meanwhile, senior BJP leader and former Rajya Sabha MP Avinash Rai Khanna has appealed to the Union Government to trace Singh and ensure his safe return.

According to a press release issued by Khanna's office on Friday, Amritpal, had gone across the border fence near Border Outpost (BOP) Rana on June 21 to carry out routine agricultural work. However, he failed to return before the border gate was closed.

Taking cognisance of the matter, Khanna has written to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, urging prompt action to trace the missing man and facilitate his safe return to his family.

Expressing solidarity with the family, Khanna assured them that the central government stands with them in this difficult time. He expressed hope that with the intervention of the Government of India, Amritpal would return home safely.