In a recent incident, a man from India was arrested on charges of aiding a Pakistani woman in entering the country illegally and obtaining a fake ID card. However, the person he helped was none other than his wife.
Mulayam Singh Yadav, a 21-year-old Indian man, and Iqra Jeewani, a 19-year-old Pakistani woman, fell in love online three years ago while playing the board game Ludo. However, due to the complex relationship between their countries, it was difficult for them to meet in person as visa restrictions were a hurdle.
Last September, the couple travelled to Nepal where they got married and later moved to Bangalore, India. However, their happiness was short-lived as Ms Jeewani was detained for entering India illegally in January, and Mr Yadav was arrested on charges of fraud, forgery and providing shelter to a foreign national without proper documents.
While the Pakistan girl was deported to Pakistan, her Indian husband remains incarcerated in a Bangalore jail. The incident has devastated Yadav’s family members, who reside in Uttar Pradesh. They maintain that the couple’s story is just a tale of love and wish for their return.
The police also acknowledge that it appears to be a love story, despite the illegal entry and forgery charges.
The love story began during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 when the Indian man was working as a security guard for an IT company in Bangalore, and the Pakistani girl was studying in Pakistan’s Hyderabad city. They began a long-distance relationship, but Jeewani’s family was pressuring her to marry.
On online friend’s advice, the travelled to Nepal via Dubai to meet him. They were married in a Hindu ceremony at a temple in Nepal, and the couple settled in Bangalore. However, since Iqra did not have the required documents to stay in India, Yadav allegedly procured a fake Indian identity document for her.
Despite the fact that her husband would go to work every day while Iqra stayed at home, her frequent WhatsApp calls to her mother in Pakistan alerted the police to her presence in India.
The Bangalore police were on high alert last month due to two significant international events scheduled in February: the Aero India air show and a G20 finance ministers’ meeting.
After further investigation, Ms Jeewani was detained for illegal entry and subsequently deported to Pakistan.
While there are no other charges against her, the investigation is still ongoing. Her family in Pakistan did not respond to requests for comment on the matter.
Yadav’s mother has expressed her desire to reunite the couple and is hopeful that the governments of both countries can help. She maintains that her daughter-in-law is welcome in their family, regardless of her religion or nationality.