If the responses of the three persons to the interrogators are to be believed, it was the charm of Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan and HrithikRoshan that apparently drove them to India. They were detained last month.
The three — Salamo, Abdul Khaliq and Adil Thorsong — at present in the custody of security agencies at Margo post in north of Ladakh after being detained on June 12, had told their interrogators about their dreams to enter India and earn money as they were facing acute poverty in their region, official sources said.
According to the sources, there was incoherence in their statements except that they were mesmerized by the charm of Bollywood superstars — Khan and Roshan.
The three claimed that they were driven out by extreme poverty from home and wanted to come to India because they had seen it as a land of prosperity on the silver screen, the sources said.
The three claimed during their interrogation, which were conducted separately, that the movies of Khan and Roshan were a hit in their area — Kargalilik of Xianjang province.
The trio, who knew only two languages — Yarkandi and Uyghur — gave different versions about their family background and the way used by them to come into India.
The security agencies were still not convinced and their interrogation would continue, sources said. The three men, aged between 18 and 23, one of whom is one-eyed, were nabbed inside Indian territory on June 12, near Sultanchku.
They are, at present, in the custody at Murgo post, where the interrogators have been flown in along with a translator.
It was also not clear from where they had come, as the nearest habitation across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) was in north of Karakoram range. Authorities are working on the possibility that they could have entered through either Raki Nallah, Jeevan Nallah or north of Daulat Beig Oldie, where Indian and Chinese troops had a face-off for nearly 21 days, between April 15 and May 5.
The three men also could not give a clear description of the areas traversed by them to enter India. Besides this, there was also apprehension about the fact that the three could have been headed towards Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir which is barely 30km up north of the area from where they were nabbed.
The three men were carrying a big political map and two smaller versions of the document with Arabic and Yarkandi script on it.
Besides this, they were carrying improvised swords and knives, tinned food including egg powder (useful in higher regions), Chinese currency of over 900 yuan and Chinese leather jackets.
The three claimed that the jackets, discarded by Chinese troops, have been picked up by them.
Both summer and winter road connectivity to this post were cut off due to bad weather in Ladakh region this year, and therefore, security agencies airlifted the interrogators and the translators to the post where the three were detained.
According to the laid down procedure along the LAC, the custody of any accused apprehended in the area has to be with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and interrogation can be carried out by central security agencies.
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