Gajanand back home in Jaipur, gets hero’s welcome

JAIPUR: On the eve of Independence Day, it was Diwali at Lal Bahadur Nagar in Jaipur.

Slogans of ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ reverberated as crowd gathered at the house of Jaipur MP Ramcharan Bohra to welcome Gajanand Sharma, who was freed from a Pakistan jail after 36 years on Monday.

A floral welcome awaited Sharma as he stepped out of the car on Tuesday.

His family members and relatives were there. The grandchildren of Sharma, who were meeting him for the first time, touched his feet and took his blessings.

Makhni Devi, Sharma’s wife, was so overwhelmed that she turned speechless, kept looking at Sharma with tears in her eyes.

Bohra took Sharma to his house and enquired about his well-being. “I am feeling very happy,” Sharma said.

People garlanded Sharma and also asked him to garland his wife, which he did with a smile.

After spending some time at Bohra’s house, Sharma left for his home at Nursing Colony in Brahmpuri area with a cavalcade in 8-10 cars, occupied by relatives and friends.

Sharma has been at the Kot Lakhpat jail in Pakistan since 1982. He was released by the Pakistan government on Monday and he stepped on to the Indian soil at Wagah Border.

After completing the legal formalities, he left for Jaipur on Tuesday and reached here in the evening.