Visakhapatnam: It's an emotional reunion for Prashanth with his family

Visakhapatnam: In an emotional reunion, a Vizag youth, who was in Pakistan prison since 2017, met his parents here on Wednesday.

V Prashanth, a software engineer belonging to Midhilapuri Vuda Colony, Madhurawada in Visakhapatnam, reached Vizag after his release from Pakistan jail on Tuesday.

While working in a software company in Hyderabad, Prashanth had fallen in love with a Switzerland-based girl. In a bid to meet his girlfriend, he left for Switzerland via Pakistan in 2017.

However, he was detained by Pakistan police when he entered the country without any documents. His intention to meet the girl shattered as the Pakistan police had taken him into custody as he had no valid documents to produce.

After four years of trauma and separation from the family, Prashanth was released from the prison on Tuesday and handed over to his brother who is in Hyderabad. Choked with emotion, Prahsanth's father Babu Rao said that he gave up pinning hopes that his son would return. "Thanks to the Central and State governments for their earnest efforts in bringing back my son to Vizag," he stated.

Arriving in Visakhapatnam, Prashanth said he never thought he would meet his parents again. "I was able to reach home with the help of the government. Like me, there are a number of people stuck in Pakistan jail. I disclosed their names to the government and requested for their release as well," Prashanth informed, appealing to youngsters to pay heed to their parents and not to commit a blunder like him.

There were times, Prashanth said, he walked up to 40-km in a desert in Pakistan. However, he mentioned that the Pakistan security dealt with a humanitarian view. Speaking to the media, he said no work was assigned to Indian prisoners in Pakistan jail.

He said he had spent most of his time praying to Lord Siva when he was in jail and added that his devotion towards God has increased 10 times further. He confessed that he was forced in vain for religious conversion.

Talking about his future, he said that he has decided to settle as a software engineer and informed that he read a few books in the jail, focusing on his line of profession.