KASUR: The body of a boy who was shot dead after entering Indian territory by mistake was handed over to Rangers by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) on Monday.

Seventeen-year-old Ijaz, son of Riaz, resident of Bhikhiwind, Kasur sector, was grazing cattle near the border on Sunday when the incident took place.

According to neighbours, one of his buffaloes had started running towards the Indian side. Ijaz ran after it and crossed over into India by mistake. He was shot dead by BSF personnel on the spot.

His family went to report the issue to the Rangers and asked them to hold talks with the Indian authorities to hand the body back. The Rangers immediately lodged a protest with the BSF, who at a biannual meeting in Lahore last week had pledged the safe return of any inadvertent border cros­ser and avoid unwarranted shooting.

The BSF handed the body over to the Rangers on Monday after an autopsy. Ganda Singh police gave the body to the family of the deceased after completing the legal formalities.

Ijaz’s mother Fatima Bibi said her son had recently passed his matriculation exam securing 729 marks out of 1100. Talking about the incident, she said that her son’s body was not moved from where he was shot for hours. She added that when the family went to retrieve it, BSF personnel did not give them permission to do so and beat them.

According to Fatima Bibi, they informed the Rangers who helped get the body back a day later.

Published in Dawn, August 2nd, 2016