Indian soldier Chandu Chavan, who inadvertently strayed across the Line of Control hours after the surgical strike on terror camps in September last year, was handed over to the Indian authorities by Pakistan as a ‘gesture of goodwill’ at Wagah border today. Earlier this month, news of Chavan’s release roamed across the internet.
Pakistan Army announced that it would return Indian soldier Chandu Babulal Chavan who, Pakistan claimed had ‘willfully crossed LOC’ on September 29, 2016. Chavan was posted with 37 Rashtriya Rifles battalion.
The Indian Army maintains that Chavan’s battalion was not part of the surgical strikes and the 22-year-old crossed over from the LoC in Mendhar sector after a tiff with his superior at the post.
“Sepoy Chandu Babulal Chavan, an Indian Army soldier, deserted his post at LoC due to his grievances of maltreatment against his commanders. He willfully crossed LoC on 29 September 2016 and surrendered himself to Pakistan Army,” a press statement from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations reads.
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The Pakistan Army had earlier informed its Indian counterpart that it is not aware of Chavan’s whereabouts.
Beyond established norms for individuals crossing the LoC, the two countries are also bound by Geneva Conventions on dealing with enemy soldiers in their custody, as unlike Lt Saurabh Kalia was treated.
Chandu Chavan, 22, hails from Borvihir village in Dhule district that falls under Bhamre’s Lok Sabha constituency.
Chavan’s family has been under stress since the news of his disappearance broke on September 29 last year — his grandmother died of a heart attack two days later. Chohan’s parents died when he was two years old and his grandmother Lilabai took care of her two grandsons.
