Two Afghan schoolboys undertook an 18-day arduous journey from a Kabul hamlet to meet Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan, dodging authorities in Pakistan but landed in police lock-up on crossing the Indo-Pakistan border.
Kasim Din, 17, and Hikmat, 14, of Akhola village of Kabul district were arrested by Border Security Force troops in Pindi Chadkha forward area of Jammu district after crossing the border with Pakistan Tuesday night, officials said on Wednesday.
The two friends, who are students of class 6 and 8, were drawn to India by their 'wish' to meet Bachchan and are also fans of Dharmendra and Shah Rukh Khan.
The boys left the Afghan hamlet on July 8, entered Jallalabad the next day, then travelled through Peshawar, Rawalpindi and Sialkote districts of Pakistan, they said.
They told their interrogators that 'Afghanistan is fascinated with Bollywood films and Sholay is the all-time favourate of the people there'.
Confirming the arrest, BSF spokesman Prem Singh told PTI that they had been handed over to the police and were lodged in Arnia police station in the district.
Asked whether Kasim Din and Hikmat would be repatriated after a flag meeting, considering that they were minors, he said, "There is no such chance. They will have to face the law."