'Jawans should never be afraid': Purnam Kumar Shaw in Rishra after return from Pakistan

Time of India

24-05-2025

RISHRA: "Nation is always first, jawans should never be afraid," said Purnam Kumar Shaw as he stepped into his Rishra home on Friday evening accompanied by family members and scores of well-wishers.
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The BSF jawan was taken into custody by
after inadvertently crossing the border on April 23, the day after the Pahalgam massacre, and spent 22 days in captivity there before being released on May 14.
Shaw reached Howrah Station by train at 4.30 pm and was received by his father and brother. He left for home in a car with a motley crowd at the station shouting 'Bharat mata ki jai'. At Bagkhali More, about 800 metres from his home, he was welcomed with garlands and flowers.
From there, the road leading to his house was draped in fairy lights, festoons and banners welcoming him home. A band playing patriotic songs led the procession as women in traditional attire stood on both sides of GT Road waving Tricolours.
Standing on an open-roof vehicle, Shaw waved at them even as a cavalcade of cars, bikes and e-rickshaws and hundreds of people on foot followed his car.
"It's good to be back home. I have received love and support from everyone.
I am also happy that the Indian Armed Forces avenged the Pahalgam killings. I will always continue to work for BSF," an overwhelmed Shaw said. But when asked about Pakistan, he remained silent.
At home, Shaw's pregnant wife Rajani was busy arranging a thaali with diya, haldi, flowers and sweets. His mother, Debanti, had toiled for hours preparing poori, sabzi, and halwa for her son.
Rajani wore the sari she had bought during last Teej — a monsoon festival when women seek blessings for their husbands.
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"Mere liye to aj Diwali bhi hay Karwa Chauth bhi" (It is both Diwali and Karwa Chauth for me)," she said, glowing with happiness. "He is being welcomed as a hero. Every news channel is flashing his photo. This will boost the morale of every soldier guarding the border," she added.
Rajni said her husband wasn't allowed to use his mobile phone after his release. "I used to call a senior officer. We had brief conversations. He wasn't harmed or physically tortured in Pakistan.
They might have interrogated him, but there wasn't even a bruise on him," she said.
Recalling the days when her husband was in captivity she said, "Each day was like a mountain that we had to climb. When I went to Pathankot, senior officers asked us to keep patience. But how could I be patient when my husband was spending days in an enemy country?"
Shae's elder sister, Kiran, who has come down from Kharagpur to meet her brother said, "I just had to tell the toto driver that I want to go to Purnam's house and he brought us here. It was such a moment of joy for us. People have now started recognising out house because of my brother. There can't be a prouder moment for us."