Love-struck Barmer man who fled to Pak repatriated
Gembara Ram Meghwal, 21, who was caught sneaking into his girlfriend’s house in 2021, fled to Pakistan fearing repercussions for his act; he was caught by Pak Rangers and jailed
Little did 21-year-old Rajasthan man Gembara Ram Meghwal imagine that a routine visit to his girlfriend’s house in 2021 would land him a Pakistani prison.
Back in India after being repatriated, ironically on the Valentine’s Day, Meghwal said, “Love affair ruined my life.”
Meghwal’s ordeal started when he was caught sneaking into his girlfriend’s house in Kumharon Ka Teeba village under the Bijrad police station area in the Barmer district of Rajasthan on the intervening night of November 4 and 5, 2021.
Fearing infamy, Meghwal decided to cross the border and enter Pakistan, where he was caught and incarcerated for over two years.
“I was so upset that I took the step of crossing over to Pakistan. My motive was to die, but I survived. However, the love affair for which I took this step ended up ruining my life entirely,” Meghwal said after crossing over to India via the Attari-Wagah border.
Meghwal’s ordeal was widely reported in the media.
“When I sneaked into my girlfriend’s house, her mother caught me. We both were young and not eligible for marriage. So, we decided to flee. As per our plan, I reached her house at midnight. While my girlfriend didn’t wake up, her mother did and chased me. I ran towards the fields, which are close to the international border,” Meghwal said.
Fearing backlash from his family and infamy in the village, Meghwal decided to cross the border into Pakistan.
“I was upset, shamed and under pressure. I wanted to end my life and thought I would be shot by either Pakistan or Indian forces while crossing the border or will be electrocuted. But nobody saw me climbing over the barbed fence, and I entered Pakistan,” he said.
Meghwal said that exhausted, he fell asleep in a field and was woken up by a person who gave him a glass of water.
“He sought my identity card, and I gave him my Aadhar card and narrated my entire story. He handed me over to the nearest police post,” he said.
Meghwal said Pakistan Police registered a case against him for illegally crossing the international border.
“During the enquiry, I was tortured for the first six months. After that, I was sent to a jail in Karachi, where I spent 21 months. Life in jail was quite miserable. The sentence was for six months, but I was kept in jail for 21 months,” Meghwal said, who still wants to meet his girlfriend when he reaches his village.
“In a nutshell, the love affair ruined my life. I was a Class 12 student. My studies suffered. It was a gross blunder on my part, and I am still regretting it,” he added.
Along with him, another Indian national Raju, hailing from the Khadwa district of Madhya Pradesh, was also repatriated. He crossed over to Pakistan illegally five years ago.
