HOSHIARPUR: For the past three years, a deaf and dumb teenager from Pakistan has been stuck in an observation home in Hoshiarpur because of the apathy of officials concerned. While he was unable to tell anyone about his address or parents, authorities did not release his photograph all this while. When they finally did so, it was after the intervention of BJP vice-president and Red Cross, India vice-chairman Avinash Rai Khanna.
The boy, who is now 18, was apprehended by BSF personnel for crossing the border at Dera Baba Nanak in November 2014. A case was registered against him for entering India illegally.
Still under trial, officials don't know anything about his name, parentage and native place in Pakistan. Principal magistrate, juvenile justice board, Gurdaspur Amandeep Singh gave Indian Red Cross Society vice-chairman Avinash Rai Khanna permission to make his photograph public to reunite him with his parents.
The Indian Red Cross Society has written to the International Committee of Red Cross in Delhi to take up the matter with the Red Cross in Pakistan. Observation Home authorities do not even know his name as attempts to apprise them of his identity by writing in Urdu failed. He scribbled a few words in Urdu in front of a person well-versed with the language but it turned out that the words he wrote were meaningless.
"I came to know about this only recently and contacted the observation home to get his photograph. Then they applied to the Juvenile Justice Board for permission. The official machinery could have done this earlier but they apparently did little to make his photograph public. The officials could have moved this application earlier as well," said Khanna, who also remained Rajya Sabha member, on Friday.
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