Pakistani man crosses border to escape girlfriend’s family, arrested from Barmer

A 21 year-old Pakistani national, Jagsi Koli, entered India on Sunday to save himself from wrath of his girlfriend’s family after he was caught at their home in a village close to international border on Friday, the Border Security Force (BSF) officials, who interrogated him, said on Monday.
Koli was caught by the BSF personnel on Sunday morning from Japda village in Barmer district, about 15 kms from the India-Pakistan border, and is being interrogated. On Monday, he was handed over to the local police by BSF.
An official aware of the development said that Koli was unaware that he had entered India and was caught when he was found asking locals about a bus that can take him to his village across the border.
A senior BSF officer, who had interrogated him, said that the man claimed that he entered India by mistake.
“Koli told us that he was having an affair with a Pakistani girl. He mentioned that his village was about 35 km from the international border and his girlfriend’s village was about 8 km away,” the officer said.
As her his claim, the officer said, Koli went to meet his girlfriend with an intention to elope with her. However, before they could execute their plan, he was caught by the girl’s family members.
“He managed to escape from her house and began running. As it was dark at the time, he had no idea which direction he was running. Seeing a light, he ran towards it and crossed the fence and reached Japda village,” the officer said.
The BSF official said the light he saw was probably a BSF floodlight installed on the Indian side of the border.
The officer said Koli was studying in Class XI and was able to speak and understand English. His girlfriend is an upper caste Hindu and around 17 years old, an apparent reason for her family opposing their relationship, the officer said.
The BSF officials have found nothing suspicious from him and said it was for the first time he had entered India. “He has been handed over the police where he will be interrogated by representatives from various security agencies,” the official said.
“The Pakistani man was handed over to us by the BSF on Monday. We will now produce him before the joint interrogation committee and complete the necessary formalities,” said Kritika Yadav, Circle Officer, Chohtan police station in Barmer district.
The incident is reminiscent of a 17-year-old boy Gemara Ram, from Kumharo Ka Tiba in Rajasthan’s Barmer district crossing the international border on the night of November 4, 2020, after he was caught with a girl. His family reported him missing on November 16 and later found that he has been caught by Pakistani Rangers.
A Pakistani court sentenced him to six months in prison, which he completed in January 2022. However, due to pending formalities between the two countries, he remained in a Pakistani jail until February 14, 2024, when he finally returned home.