A 20-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh crossed into Pakistan to find love, only to end up getting a heartbreak as well as a possible prison term after his online crush rejected his marriage proposal.
The story goes back to over two years ago when Badal Babu, hailing from Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh, met Pakistani woman Sana Rani on social media and their online relationship deepened. The man fell in love to such an extent that he was prepared to do anything for her.
And so, he decided to take a dangerous journey to cross into the neighbouring country through the Attari-Wagah border, convert to Islam and adopted the name Rehan in an attempt to win over Sana’s hand in marriage, according to a report by the Times of India.
However, his dreams of a cross-border love story crashed to the ground when Sana rejected his marriage proposal and ditched him, leaving him with legal troubles and an uncertain future in Pakistan. He started working as a shepherd near Sana’s home in Mandi Bahauddin and was arrested on December 27, 2024, after falsely claiming that he was from Karachi with no family ties.
Badal’s lawyer in Lahore, who took on the case on humanitarian grounds, argued that his client feared returning to India citing danger due to his religious conversion. Badal’s employer Hazi Khan Asgar said the young man had approached him for work and later disclosed his romantic intentions.
Asgar said Sana and her mother had initially invited Badal to their residence, but upon discovering his circumstances, Sana had refused his proposal, leaving him stranded in Pakistan and facing a prison term.
It came to light that Badal was recently allowed to contact his parents in Aligarh as he had an emotional conversation while handcuffed outside the courthouse. His lawyer Fayaz Ramay said Badal’s account of illegally crossing the border was being scrutinised. His next hearing will take place at the end of this month Time of India reported.
