Indian Man Who Crossed Border for Love Refuses to Return Home After Jail Term

An Indian national from Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh district, who illegally entered Pakistan in 2024 to meet an online girlfriend, has completed his one-year prison sentence but remains detained due to an unpaid fine and his refusal to return to India.

Badal Babu, a resident of Khitkari village in Aligarh, crossed the border without documents to meet Sana Rani, a woman from Mandi Bahauddin district whom he befriended on social media over two years ago. Upon arrival, he reportedly worked as a shepherd while claiming to be from Karachi to avoid suspicion. Pakistani authorities arrested him in late 2024, and a court sentenced him to one year imprisonment for illegal entry, with the term ending around late 2025 or early 2026.

Sources indicate that during his time in Pakistan, Badal Babu converted to Islam and adopted the name Rehan. His lawyer, Fayyaz Ramay, who took the case on humanitarian grounds, stated that his client fears for his life if deported to India due to the religious conversion. In court appearances as recent as early 2025, Badal expressed a strong desire to remain in Pakistan permanently, equating return to India with a “death sentence.”

However, Sana Rani rejected his marriage proposal after learning of his illegal status, leaving him stranded and leading to his arrest. Recent reports from January 2026 suggest he is still held in Lahore’s district jail pending payment of a fine, with deportation procedures underway despite his objections.

Badal’s parents in India have repeatedly appealed to the government for his safe return, expressing relief at the completion of his sentence but anxiety over delays. Indian authorities have coordinated with a Pakistani lawyer to facilitate the process.