New Delhi: Two men from a village near Ludhiana were apparently swept away in the swollen Sutlej River and washed ashore in Pakistan where they were taken into custody, police said.
According to the police, Ratanpal and Havinder Singh, residents of Sidhwan Bet in Ludhiana's Jagraon village, were apprehended by the Pakistani Rangers on Saturday and the Border Security Force was subsequently informed.
Reacting to the incident, SHO Bachan Singh said, "We received a message that two youths were washed away to Pakistan. They were caught by Pakistan Rangers."
"A flag meeting between Pakistan Rangers and our BSF was held yesterday as well as today. After the youths are handed over, the next action will be taken...Members of the family have been informed, they are coming here," he added.
Police said it was unclear how the two reached Ferozepur from Ludhiana. A police official said the exact circumstances and sequence of events would become clear once the duo is handed over to the Indian authorities.
"We received information on Saturday that two people, who were stated to have been swept away by the river to the Pakistani side, were apprehended by the Pakistani Rangers," the police official said.
Earlier on Wednesday, a deaf Indian citizen, who was swept into Pakistan by floodwaters of the Sutlej River has been handed over to an intelligence agency, officials in Pakistan's Punjab province said, reported PTI.
"The Indian national who is in his 50s is deaf and communicates through sign language. He said he is a Hindu and the floodwater swept him here," a Rescue 1122 spokesperson said in Lahore.
The man swept into Pakistan from the floodwater of the Sutlej near Ganda Singh Wala, Kasur district of Punjab, some 70 km from Lahore, on Tuesday, the spokesperson said.