22-year-old who left home at 13 to earn for family,yet to return

Though Hari is 22 now,he has been through quite an ordeal after “accidentally” crossing over to Pakistan in 2005,where his next abode for the seven years was a police station and Kot Lakhpat jail. One of the five Indian prisoners repatriated from Pakistan on February 16 and who had no takers initially,Hari is now watching his other colleagues leave for their respective homes. On Thursday,a family from Orrisa came to take home one such prisoner Venu Dhar Pradhan,who is said to have spent five years in a Pakistan jail.

However,Hari’s wait to reach home is getting endless. He impatiently asks the officials of the Amritsar Red Cross about his family,which includes his father Bhaurav,mother Revta and brothers Tara Chand and Nikhil.

His story goes like this.

After working in the juice factory for two years — where Hari claims the contractor paid him Rs 60,000 — Hari was set to return to his family in 2005. But that was not to be. His village colleagues,Pardeep and Suraj,deceived him by making him board a wrong train and decamped with his money.

“We were supposed to board the train for Nagpur. Pardeep and Suraj made me board a train and said they will be back in a minute. They never came,” said Hari. The train brought him to Punjab. “A farmer first offered me food and later forced me to work for him. I refused and told him that I wanted return home. But he insisted that I work for him. Then a little girl from his family advised me to run away and in the process I boarded a train near the border. I learnt that I had reached Pakistan only when the officials asked for my passport and nationality. I was blindfolded and taken to a police station,” Hari,who was 15 when he was arrested in Pakistan,said.

Hari claimed that the cops in the police station did not allow him to sit or sleep for months. “The police station had CCTV cameras. Whenever I sat down or tried to sleep,they used to beat me up. I was allowed some rest only after a doctor came to examine me and while pointing towards my swollen feet told the cops that I will die if not allowed to sit. After spending eight months in the police station,I was sent to Kot Lakhpat jail,where I spent six years,” he added.

“Now,after my return,I have provided them with my address,but still I continue to be in the Red Cross. I have also told them that that my village is only 35 km from Nagpur and is located near Jejani Paper Mill,” Hari claimed.

When asked,Amritsar Red Cross Assistant Secretary Thakur Randhir Singh said: “We have taken up the matter with the officials of Maharashtra Red Cross and waiting for their response. Today,I also spoke to the concerned police control room in Maharashtra to locate Hari’s family.”