Gujarat Cattle Herder Who Crossed Over to Pakistan in 2008 Returns to India

A cattle herder from Gujarat's Kutch district, who had inadvertently crossed over to Pakistan in 2008 and was arrested there on charges of spying, has finally returned to India after languishing in the neighbouring country's jails, officials said. Ismael Sama, 60, from Nana Dinara village in Kutch, located some 60 kms from the Pakistan border, had mistakenly crossed over to Pakistan while grazing his cattle.

He was arrested and kept in the jails of that country before he was released two days back following the Islamabad High Court's order on a plea moved by the Indian High Commission there. Sama reached Amritsar after crossing over to the Indian territory through Wagah-Attari international border on Friday, officials at Attari said.

Some of his family members also reached Amritsar to receive him, sources said. The authorities in Amritsar are completing some formalities, including Sama's medical examination, after which he would be handed over to his family, the officials said.

He was received by Fajal Sama, who runs an NGO in his village, and his relative Yunus Sama, on Saturday at the Indian Red Cross Society in Amritsar. "I had mistakenly crossed over to the Pakistan side while grazing my cattle. They called me a spy and an agent of RAW. ISI kept me in jail for six months, then handed me over to the Pakistan Army. I was in their custody for three years before being sentenced to five years in jail. Even after completing my sentence in October 2016, I was not released," Sama said over phone from Amritsar.