Indian man crosses over illegally into Pakistan to marry Facebook friend, lands in jail
Lahore/Aligarh, Jan 2: A young Indian man crossed over illegally into Pakistan to meet a Facebook friend he wanted to marry, but instead found himself behind bars. And the woman told the local police she does not want to tie the knot.
Badal Babu from the Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh was arrested on December 28 in the Mandi Bahauddin district of Pakistan's Punjab province (some 240 kms from Lahore).
Babu, who is in his 20s, crossed the border to meet the Facebook friend with whom he wanted to marry.
Pakistan Police have recorded the statement of Babu's Facebook friend Sana Rani, 21, who said she wasn't interested in marrying him.
"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," a Punjab police officer, Nasir Shah, told PTI on Thursday.
He said Babu illegally crossed the border and reached Sana Rani's Maung village in Mandi Bahauddin, where he was arrested by law enforcers.
When asked whether Babu met Rani, the police officer said he couldn't confirm this.
It is also not independently confirmed whether Rani gave a statement to the police refusing to marry Babu under pressure.
However, a source told PTI that officials of a Pakistani intelligence agency quizzed Rani and her other family members over her relationship with Babu.
Upon his arrest, Babu narrated his "love story" to the police. Babu was detained under Pakistan’s Foreign Act sections 13 and 14 as he was travelling without any legal documents.
Later, he was produced before a court, which placed him in judicial custody for 14 days. The next hearing is on January 10.
Babu's father Kirpal Singh, who lives in Khitkari village under the Barla police station area in the Aligarh district, told the local media that the family learned of his arrest via social media.
"We couldn't believe it. For us, till this moment, we knew that he was working in Delhi, but the next moment, we were shocked to discover that he's in a Pakistani jail. It's like something out of a movie," he said in disbelief.
The family has now appealed to the Indian government, particularly to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to intervene for Babu's release.
"We want our son back. We don't know how to bring him home. We are calling on the prime minister to help us," Babu's mother told local reporters.
"He was a simple boy. He never did anything like this before," she added.
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 in a statement.
According to family sources, Babu was very active on Facebook, where he reportedly connected with a girl from Pakistan. After informing his parents that he would be heading to Delhi for work, Babu left his village after Raksha Bandhan in August.
Just before Diwali, his family received a video call on WhatsApp, in which Babu reassured them that he was safe, had found a job and was using a friend's phone because he could not afford his own. His family later learned that Babu had somehow crossed the international border near Jammu, although these details remain unconfirmed, the Indian sources said.
This is not the first time someone from India has crossed into Pakistan to meet a love interest developed through social media.
Previously, an Indian woman named Anju travelled to Pakistan to meet her lover. She converted to Islam and married a Pakistani man, Nasrullah.
Last year, Seema Haider, a woman from Pakistan, befriended an Indian man through the PUBG game. She crossed into India via Nepal with her four children and later married him.
Similarly, last year, 19-year-old Pakistani girl Iqra Jiwani developed a friendship with 25-year-old Indian national Mulayam Singh Yadav through an online game. Iqra and Mulayam later married in Nepal.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
