Bangladeshi youth who planned to marry Karachi woman held at Attari

A Bangladeshi youth, who wanted to marry a Pakistani woman he befriended on social media and fell in love with, entered India illegally and hitchhiked his way to Punjab to cross the border, but his plans went awry as he was held at Attari.

Nayanmiah Abdullah (20) decided to take the arduous journey after the woman expressed her inability to visit Bangladesh and asked him to come to Pakistan to marry her, he told police.

Abdullah, a resident of Bepari Para village in Bangladesh's Shariatpur district, first managed to reach Kolkata and then arrived in Amritsar a fortnight back, police said on Wednesday.

Abdullah was staying at different locations in Amritsar before moving to Attari. He was held on Sunday night near the exit gate of the integrated check post at Attari by the Border Security Force, police said.

He was neither carrying a passport nor necessary permission for crossing over to Pakistan and also travel documents, according to the police.

During questioning, Abdullah told investigators that he wanted to go to Pakistan to meet a Karachi-based woman whom he loved.

The teenager, who was pursuing post-graduation in Bangladesh, came in contact with the woman on social media six months ago. Later, he fell in love with her and decided to marry her. Both of them remained in touch over a video call, police said.