Hyderabad techie jailed in Pakistan handed over to BSF on border

This man might not have exactly moved mountains for love, but he dared to set out on a journey unheard of, on foot from India to Switzerland, for which he crossed the international border with Pakistan before being detained by authorities there.

On Tuesday, after spending four years in a Pakistan jail on charges of illegal entry, Prashanth Vaindam finally returned to his family in Hyderabad, a not-so-happy but relieving end to an ordeal that began in 2017.

The city-based software engineer was brought home by the Cyberabad Police after being handed over to the Border Security Force by Pakistan Rangers at the Attari-Wagah joint checkpost on Monday.

“I thought I would never be released from jail. I had lost hope as time passed,” he told the media after reaching Hyderabad, adding that he is happy to be back.

Prashanth, a native of Visakhapatnam, was working for a software firm in Hyderabad when he ‘went missing’ in April 2017. A case was registered at the Madhapur Police Station as well. The story took a twist in November 2019 when his family came to know that he was actually



in a Pakistan jail.

Prashanth told the media that he had plans to go to Switzerland to meet a friend and wanted to travel through Pakistan, Iran and Turkey to enter Europe.

“I was following the route shown on Google Maps,” he said, adding that the plan fell apart when he was caught by Pakistan authorities at Bahawalpur.

“I was kept well in the Lahore jail and before that I was in the custody of the Pakistan Army. I was initially told I would be released soon but that dragged on for so long,” said Prashanth, who had in between managed to send a video message to his family saying he was safe.

The friend he set out to meet was reportedly a girl he had fallen in love after meeting her on Facebook. He was depressed when she moved to Switzerland. “My mother had told me not to go to Switzerland. I did not obey her and landed in trouble,” he said.

It was an emotional union for Prashanth and his brother, to whom the Cyberabad Police handed him over. They will be leaving for Visakhapatnam soon.