Amritpal Singh, a 23-year-old farmer from Punjab's Ferozepur district, has been confirmed to be in Pakistan's custody after having been missing for nine days. He disappeared on June 21, 2025, while tending to his agricultural land near the India-Pakistan border. It is believed that he inadvertently crossed the Zero Line at the India-Pakistan border near Rana Panjgrain village.
Amritpal Singh, a resident of Khaire ke Uttar village in Punjab's Fazilka district, went to till his fields across the fence on the Indo-Pak international border but did not return. He owns land in Rana Panjgrain village and would cross the gate at the fence on the Indian side, which is manned by BSF personnel, to work on his land daily. On the morning of June 21, he signed the register maintained by the BSF while crossing the gate but never returned.
Jugraj Singh, Amritpal's father, confirmed that during a flag meeting with BSF officers, Pakistan Rangers admitted that Amritpal was in the custody of the Pakistan's Punjab police.
The Border Security Force (BSF) has contacted Pakistan Rangers and is working towards his safe return. According to sources, the Station House Officer of Amir Khas Police Station received a letter from the company commandant of the 160 Battalion of the BSF, stating that Singh had gone beyond the fence near Border Outpost Rana for routine agricultural work but did not return by the time the gates were to be closed. Footprints leading towards Pakistan were found, suggesting a possible inadvertent border crossing. The BSF requested the police to register a First Information Report (FIR).
A senior police officer confirmed that an FIR has been registered and that the police are conducting searches within their jurisdiction. Former Member of Parliament from Hoshiarpur and senior BJP leader Avinash Rai Khanna has written to Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar to do the needful to bring the youth back. He has attached a news-item published in The Tribune, along with the letter, requesting the authorities to consider the demand of the family to contact the Pakistan authorities to get the youth back to India.
Amritpal is married and has a three-month-old daughter. His family owns about 8.5 acres of farmland located beyond the border fencing on the Indian side. His father stated that Amritpal left on his bike that afternoon but did not return in the evening. The BSF even reopened the frisking gate before dusk in search of him, but he could not be found.
Farmers who have land near the India-Pakistan border often face challenges. During the summer months, farmers are allowed to access land between the barbed-wire fence and the international border under strict BSF monitoring, typically between 8 am and 5 pm. Several farmers from border districts, including Fazilka, Ferozepur, Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Amritsar, and Tarn Taran, have agricultural land in this area, known as the "zero line".
In similar incidents, inadvertent border crossings have occurred in the past. In May 2025, a BSF constable, Purnam Kumar Sahu, was apprehended by Pakistan Rangers after he inadvertently crossed the international border while escorting farmers along the Ferozepur sector in Punjab. Similarly, in the same month, a Pakistani Ranger was detained by the BSF in Rajasthan.
The family has appealed to the Ministry of Home Affairs and other top authorities for urgent intervention. Avinash Rai Khanna has appealed to the Union Government to ensure Amritpal's safe return.
