Briton home after Indian prison ordeal

Former prisoner Chaudhary Aurangzeb is back in Britain

A British man detained in jail in India without charge for seven years has arrived back to Britain.

Chaudhary Aurangzeb had an emotional reunion with his relatives at Heathrow airport and said: "I'm very happy. I'm thrilled to see my family."

He was greeted at the airport by his brothers Mohammad Javid and Mohammad Pervaiz who were unable to visit him while he was in jail for fear that they too would be detained.

Mr Aurangzeb, 25, was just 18 when he travelled to Kashmir with his father in April 1994 to re-discover his roots.

Indian authorities arrested and imprisoned the teenager, from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, after he accidentally wandered over the border from his father's home village in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir.

The police claimed he was part of an armed gang which crossed the border.

But though Mr Aurangzeb was detained under the Foreigner Act he was never formally charged.

A court in Kashmir finally ordered his release saying there were no further charges against him, said BBC correspondent Adam Mynott reporting from Delhi.

Mountain trek

The ordeal began for Mr Aurangzeb when he slipped away from his father on holiday and trekked across mountains to find rebel camps, according to the regional newspaper the Manchester Evening News.

As an 18-year-old he had begged to join the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front after hearing tales of atrocities committed by Indian forces, it said.

The paper reported in April that he had hoped to be freed soon and reunited with his mother in Longsight, Manchester.

Feared dead

The paper said his family had initially believed he was dead until they heard about his imprisonment on the BBC six years ago.

Rochdale-born Mr Aurangzeb had been caught by police in Srinagar during a search.

He claimed he had been beaten and subjected to electric shocks while being held for 17 months in a detention centre.

Later he was moved to Srinagar's central jail.

The Indians are our oppressors, I wanted to help our Muslim brothers

Chaudhary Aurangzeb

Speaking from jail he told the paper: "When I was in England I heard that the Indian forces were doing wrong, killing children and burning mosques.

"I was told mothers and sisters were being raped by the Indians. It was my duty to go and fight them. I had to come.

"The Indians are our oppressors, I wanted to help our Muslim brothers".

He said that though it had been difficult in prison, he had no regrets.

A fellow prisoner said: "We respect him because he came all the way from England to help us, and he was so young at the time.''

Mr Aurangzeb said then he expected the judge to release him within weeks, but that he feared that the Indians might try and re-arrest him.

"I want to go home,'' he added.

"England is my country.''