Missing since 2020, UP man returns home 15 months after release from Pak jail

Unnao (UP), Aug 29 (PTI) A man from Uttar Pradesh's Unnao district, who had been missing for nearly five years and was released from a Pakistani jail around 15 months back, has returned home in a mentally unstable condition, officials said on Friday.

Suraj Pal (45), a resident of Akrampur Sultan Khera village in the Sadar Kotwali area, had gone missing on October 27, 2020, prompting his family to lodge a missing person report, his relatives said.

According to Pal's cousin Ramesh, security personnel from the border area in Jammu and Kashmir told the family in October 2021 that he crossed into Pakistan in December 2020 and was imprisoned there.

Pal was released in May 2024 and handed over to the Border Security Force (BSF) at the Wagah border, a relative said.

However, despite his release, Pal did not return home until Wednesday, when villagers spotted him wandering near the Lok Nagar railway crossing in a disoriented state, and alerted his family.

The relative told reporters that Pal's mental health has been severely affected, and he is unable to respond clearly to their questions.

Magarwara police outpost in-charge Arvind Pandey said no action has been taken at their level so far, as the local intelligence unit has launched a probe into the matter. PTI COR KIS SMV ARI