PoK woman crosses LoC in Rajouri, detained

JAMMU: A 19-year-old woman from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) was intercepted by Army personnel after she crossed the LoC in J&K’s Rajouri district, officials said Saturday.Nothing incriminating was found with Samiya Azeem when she was caught late Friday, the officials said, adding she is a resident of PoK’s Kotli district. “During preliminary interrogation, the girl maintained she had inadvertently crossed the LoC and entered Indian territory,” an official said.Troops found Samiya in the border village of Pukherni in Rajouri’s Nowshera sector. The teenager was later handed over to J&K Police officers for further detention and inquiries, the officials said.Inadvertent LoC crossings are not rare in J&K. Such intruders are often intercepted by Army troopers and handed over to local cops for identity verification before being repatriated through designated checkpoints following special flag meetings with Pakistani counterparts.On Sept 7 this year, Nazir Sadhir, a resident of Luni Pundra village in Pakistan’s Sialkot, was caught after inadvertently crossing the LoC. Checks followed, and he was later handed over to Pakistani Rangers by BSF personnel at Golpattan outpost.On June 9 this year, Javed Ali, a 14-year-old from PoK, was detained on this side of the LoC. He was handed over to Pakistan Army personnel a week later at Chakan Da Bagh border post after checks and other formalities.Abdul Hussain, a 70-year-old from Lehari Khurd village in Pakistan, was intercepted in Indian territory on March 25 this year and sent back within six hours after it was established that he had entered inadvertently.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.