A social media romance prompted a 22-year-old resident of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) to cross over into the Uri sector of north Kashmir, where he was detained by the Army and handed over to the Jammu and Kashmir Police, sources said.
The Army’s Srinagar-based Chinar Corps said in a statement on Sunday that an intruder from PoK was “intercepted by alert Chinar warriors while crossing the Line of Control in Uri sector”.
“The vigilant troops maintained restraint while challenging the intruder and surgically apprehended the individual,” it said.
Sources identified the man as 22-year-old Zeeshan Ahmad, a resident of Rankeri village of Haveli Kahuta in PoK. He was detained near Silikote, a border village of Uri in Baramulla district.
Sources said that during preliminary questioning, it was revealed that he crossed the LoC to meet a woman from a border village in Uri with whom he had developed a romantic relationship. They purportedly connected through social media and fell in love, sources said.
“They first met through social media and developed a love affair. It was during their routine talks that he told her about his problems and family disputes,” said a source, adding, “The girl advised him to escape the problems by crossing over into J&K and settling here.”
According to the source, the woman had advised Ahmed to cross the LoC and surrender to the Indian Army so that he gets a lenient punishment. “She told him that once the punishment period is over, he can settle in the Valley,” the source said.
The woman was also called in for questioning to corroborate Ahmed’s version of events. Sources said the woman corroborated his story.
While prima facie, it appears to be a case of cross-border love, sources said, authorities were not leaving anything to chance and are looking into all possibilities. “The Army, together with police, are trying to find out if the love story is a cover-up for something else,” a source said.
