New Delhi: Love knows no bounds and barriers. But blind love can also land a person in big trouble.
Just like Badal Babu found out.
The 30-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh recently landed in a jail in Pakistan after crossing the border illegally to meet his Facebook lover and marry her.
Babu’s family members, who were told that he was working in Delhi, are in shock after finding out about his arrest in Pakistan, and has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene and facilitate his release, reported PTI.
“We want our son back but don’t know how to bring him home. We are calling on the prime minister to help us,” Babu’s mother was quoted as saying by PTI.
“He was a simple boy. He never did anything like this before,” she added.
Babu, who had connected with Pakistani woman Sana Rani through Facebook two-and-a-half years back, was arrested on December 27 in Mandi Bahauddin district of Pakistan’s Punjab province for crossing the border without valid documents.
Babu, booked under Sections 13 and 14 of Pakistan’s Foreigners Act, 1946, was presented in court, which remanded him in judicial custody for 14 days. He is scheduled to appear in court next on January 10.
According to Pakistani authorities, Babu confessed he had developed a romantic relationship with the woman on social media and, desperate to meet her in person, entered the country without a valid visa or travel documents.
Interestingly, the woman told Pakistan’s Punjab Police she wasn’t interested in marrying Babu.
“In her statement to police, Sana Rani says that Babu and she have been friends on Facebook for the last two-and-a-half years. But she is not interested in marrying him,” Pakistan Punjab Police officerNasir Shah told PTI.
Babu, who left his village in August, reassured his parents during Diwali that he was safe and had found a job. And now, they hear he is languishing in a Pakistani jail.
“We couldn’t believe it. For us, till this moment we knew that he was working in Delhi, but the next moment we are shocked to discover that he’s in a Pakistani jail. It’s like something out of a movie,” said Babu’s father Kirpal Singh, who lives in Khitkari village under Barla police station area.
The helpless family is approaching all quarters to get their son back.
Aligarh Superintendent of Police (Rural) Amrit Jain confirmed that they had received a memorandum from the family and would be taking the matter up with the Ministry of External Affairs.
“We will approach the proper channels to provide whatever assistance is necessary and work towards establishing contact with Babu. Our primary goal is to secure his release from custody in Pakistan,” Jain said.
