Blindfolded for hours, denied sleep, and interrogated without rest—this was the reality for BSF Constable Purnam Kumar Shaw after he accidentally crossed into Pakistan on 23 April 2025.
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00:00Blindfolded for hours, deprived of sleep and denied even the basic right to brush his teeth.
00:05This is the ordeal Constable Purnam Kumar Shaw faced after he accidentally crossed into
00:09Pakistani territory on 23 April 2025. The Border Security Force Jawan was finally handed over to
00:15Indian authorities on 14 May 2025 after spending 21 harrowing days in Pakistani custody. According
00:22to sources, Shaw endured extreme mental juries during his three-week detention.
00:26While he was not physically tortured, he was kept blindfolded for long durations,
00:31subjected to sleep deprivation and constant verbal abuse by his captors. He was moved between three
00:36undisclosed locations in Pakistan, one of them near an airbase where the sound of aircraft flying
00:41overhead was audible. At one facility, he was locked inside a jail cell, still blindfolded.
00:47As per Shaw, Pakistani officials mostly in civilian clothing repeatedly interrogated him,
00:52seeking details about BSF deployments and senior command structures
00:55along the international border. As per BSF standard operating procedures,
01:00Shaw was not carrying a mobile phone. He was asked for contact numbers but could not provide them,
01:05citing memory lapse under Duras. After his return,
01:08Shaw was able to speak to his family and has since undergone debriefing.
01:12BSF officials confirmed that he was in a stable mental and physical condition.
01:16As per part of BSF protocols, his clothes were discarded after thorough examination.