Balaghat man released from Pakistani jail after years of captivity

 

 
 

 

 

Former District Panchayat member Engineer Vikram K D Deshmukh has thanked Government of India and the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, Pakistan, on safe return of Indian citizen Prasanjit Rangari (38), a resident of Khairlanji, Balaghat, after years of captivity in Pakistan. It may be noted that Prasanjit went missing from his home in 2012 as he was mentally unstable. However, in 2021, the victim’s sister got information that her brother was imprisoned in Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore, Pakistan. They approached authorities and later sought help from Former District Panchayat member Vikram Deshmukh. Deshmukh said that he had been raising the issue of pharmacist Prasanjit Rangari’s mysterious disappearance on national and international platforms since December 2023. In December 2023, he met with the victim’s family in Mahkepar village, Tirodi, and after understanding the family’s claims, he filed a complaint with the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, on January 8, 2024, based on the family’s claim that Prasanjit was imprisoned in Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore, Pakistan. In response, the MoEA instructed him on September 18, 2024, to register a complaint on the MoEA help portal.

 

Hence he had registered a complaint number PKORPT 109327824 on October 3, 2024, for the return of the missing Prasanjit. He received a reply 11 months later, on September 10, 2025, via email, stating that Prasanjit was alive and residing at the Punjab Institute of Mental Health in Lahore, Pakistan, under the pseudonym Sunil Adhay. It was also stated that the Indian Ambassador had raised the issue of Prasanjit’s release with the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs on September 2, 2025. Due to the delay in Prasanjit’s release from Pakistan, Vikram Deshmukh also emailed the Indian External Affairs Minister, Dr S Jaishankar, on September 22, 2025, demanding his immediate release. Due to the strained relations between India and Pakistan following the Uri attack, Pulwama attack, Balakot surgical strike, Pahalgam attack, and Operation Sindoor, Prasanjit’s release was continuously delayed. To ascertain the reasons for the delay in Prasanjit’s release and the efforts being made by the Indian High Commission in Islamabad for his release, Vikram Deshmukh filed a request for information under the Right to Information Act with the Indian High Commission in Pakistan on December 27, 2025.

 

In response, the Indian High Commission provided information on January 20, 2026, stating that Prasanjit was in Pakistani custody and that an Indian consular official had inquired about his well-being. Vikram Deshmukh again filed a complaint with the MoEA, Counsellor, Passport, Visa Division, and IHC in Islamabad, Pakistan, on December 28, 2025, referring to the petition filed on the help portal. He also submitted a complaint petition (No. E/2026/0006072) to the Prime Minister’s Office, Government of India, on January 10, 2026, demanding the release of the Indian citizen from illegal Pakistani custody. As a result of the continuous efforts of Vikram K D Deshmukh over two years, Akhilesh Singh, Welfare Officer, IHC, Islamabad, Pakistan, informed on February 2, 2026, regarding the resolution of the petitions submitted to the PMO and MoEA that Prasanjit Rangari had been sent back to India from the Wagah Border in Amritsar, Punjab, on January 31, 2026. Sanghamitra Rajesh Khobragade, a resident of Mahkepar, Tirodi, Katangi area, informed Vikram Deshmukh that her brother Prasanjit Rangari had safely returned to India. Vikram Deshmukh, using the mobile phone provided by his sister Sanghamitra, contacted the Punjab Police and obtained information about which police station Prasanjit was being held in, his Indian address, and the handover process. This information was then given to the family members to ensure the safe return of Prasanjit Rangari from the Red Cross building, Majitha Police Station, Amritsar, Punjab, to Balaghat district. Sanghamitra Rajesh Khobragade and her family members wholeheartedly acknowledged and appreciated the commendable efforts taken by Engineer Vikram K D Deshmukh.