The son of an Indian Army soldier, who reportedly went missing and lodged in a Lahore prison after the India-Pakistan War in 1965, has urged President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to extradite his father from Islamabad, news agency ANI reported.
The soldier’s son, Bidyadhar Patri, said the Pakistani authorities were supposed to release his father, Anand Patri, in 2007. However, they made a condition to release him as a “civilian”, but Indian authorities refused to accept it.
Bidyadhari, 65, said he came to know about his father in Pakistan’s prison through a publication in 2003. “He did not return after the 1965 war. A publication in 2003 said my father was locked in Lahore jail in Pakistan. Since I came to know that my father is alive, I knocked on every door for help but didn’t get any,” he said.
International Human Rights activist Uttam Roy has also confirmed Anand was recruited into the Army from Kolkata and also fought in the 1962 India-China war.
“He was recruited from Kolkata into the Indian Army. He also participated in the 1962 India-China war. He fought in the Indo-Pak war in 1965. He has been missing since 1965. We had met chief minister Naveen Patnaik, also met Pranab Mukherjee earlier. If he is alive, he would be nearly 88 years old. He has been in jail for nearly 58 years, if he is alive. The government of India and Odisha should ensure his return and also give financial assistance to his family. If he has died, the Pakistani authorities should give us his death certificate,” Roy said.
Raising apprehension about his father’s death, Bidyadhar further demanded a death certificate from Pakistan authorities, if he died, and called for assigning his father a “martyr” status. The letter with all the details and demands has been submitted to the President’s office.
Anand Patri was serving as a sepoy in the Bengal Defence Regiment during the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965 when he went missing. His family stays in the Dhamnagar block of Odisha’s Bhadrak district.
