Drug addict from Punjab's Jalandhar crosses India-Pakistan border, family appeals to the government to bring him home

India's BSF soldiers patrol near the fenced border with Pakistan

A Jalandhar-based man, who is reportedly a drug addict, crossed the India-Pakistan border, following which, Pakistani Rangers detained him, NDTV reported.

The man, Sharanjit Singh, is a resident of Bhoypur village in Punjab's Jalandhar and crossed over to Pakistan on November 2, the police said.

The family then filed a missing person report on November 7. Weeks later, a picture of Singh, handcuffed by Pakistani Rangers, went viral on social media, through which, his family came to know about his whereabouts.

His parents told NDTV that Singh had left the house on  November 2, after which his friend Mandeep left him at Khemkaran, that is barely four kilometres from the border of Pakistan.

His parents had asked Mandeep about Sharanjit's whereabouts when he didn't return home. But Mandeep kept lying to them for days, after which he told the family that he had left Sharanjit at Khemkaran. They found out about Sharanjiot's whereabouts on November 21.

Now, Singh's family has appealed to the Indian government to bring him back to India. The family said that he was a wrestler for 10 years but started using drugs in 2014 and eventually became addicted to them.

Sharanjit would reportedly disobey his family and fight with them. His elder brother has been living in the United States for the last eight years, while his sister is a student in Punjab, NDTV reported.