6 Women Who Crossed Indian Border To Meet Their Lovers

Seema Haider wasn't the only one who crossed a border to meet the man she fell in love with. Several women, from across the globe, have entered India to meet their love interests, and their stories are as interesting as any cross-border genre film. From meeting through social media to getting married via video call, here are six women who made the conscious choice to travel all the way to India to meet their love interests and make it official.  

Women Who Crossed Border To Unite With Lovers In India

Seema Haider

A 27-year-old woman from Pakistan fell in love with a 21-year-old Indian boy Sachin Meena when they met on the popular online game PUBG. Seema, who is a mother of four children - all aged under 7 years - entered India intending to live with her lover illegally along with her four children. Seema, who sold her house in Pakistan to collect some funds, first travelled to Nepal.

She allegedly took advantage of the Indo-Nepal treaty of the free movement of citizens without needing a visa and smuggled her four children along with her into the Indian border to unite with her lover. Seema was earlier detained by police but was later released on bail. She was also making news because the ATS (Anti-Terrorist Squad) is currently enquiring about her once again investigating allegations of whether or not she is a spy. 

Mehvish Rehman

In a recent case, a woman from Pakistan's Islamabad befriended a man from Rajasthan, got married to him via video call, and has now visited India to unite with him. The woman identified as Mehvish, allegedly "tied the knot virtually" with her lover Rehman in 2022. Rehman reportedly works as a transporter in Kuwait. They then had a formal, in-person marriage ceremony during Mehvish's Umrah pilgrimage to Mecca in 2023. In July 2024, Mehvish travelled from Islamabad to Lahore and crossed over into India through the Wagah border. She has obtained a 45-day tourist visa after thorough document checking done by both Pakistani and Indian authorities. Mehvish reportedly has two sons aged 12 and 7 from her previous marriage.

Barbara Polak

A single Polish woman who is the mother of an 8-year-old daughter flew from Poland all the way to India and reached Jharkhand's Khutra village in Hazaribag to meet the man she intended to marry. The woman, who is divorced, came to India with a tourist visa valid till 2027 to marry her social media friend Shadab who is a struggling actor. The two met on social media where their friendship blossomed. While Polak earlier visited India in 2021 to meet Shadab, she has now come to tie the knot with him and the couple intends to make their marriage legal as well. Polak doesn't intend to stay in India, and the couple will fly back to Poland with the consent of Shadab's family.

Julie Begum

A Bangladeshi woman named Julie Begum met Ajay Singh, an Indian man from Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, through the social media platform Facebook. The two talked for a while and Julie flew to India to marry Ajay. After marrying Ajay, Julie under the pretext of her visa renewal, lured Ajay to fly to Bangladesh with her. Sometime later, she sent a haunting picture of Ajay soaked in blood to his mother in India. The image sent everyone into a panic state while Ajay's mother requested Moradadbad police to look into the matter and safely bring back her son Ajay. The matter is under probe by police agencies.

Chanda Khan

In 2015, a 27-year-old woman from Pakistan named Chanda Khan alias Fauzia crossed the Attari border through the scrutinised and now-halted Samjhauta Express connecting India and Pakistan. Khan claimed to be visiting India to see dargahs and meet Bollywood actors, Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan. She was caught in Jalandhar when she failed to present any ticket, passport or visa. She was later taken into custody and detained after she received a sentence of imprisonment from an Indian court for 2 years. She was later released in 2018 and was sent back to Pakistan after she completed her sentence. 

Krishna Mandal

In 2022, a Bangladeshi woman named Krishna Mandal swam all the way through Bangladesh to meet her lover Abhik Mandal and marry him. The woman met Abhik on Facebook where their love grew. As she did not have a passport, she braved through a dangerous forest of Sunderbans known for its Royal Bengal Tigers and then swam across a river to cross the border and illegally entered India. She married Abhik in Kalighat temple in Kolkata. She was arrested and later handed over to the Bangladesh High Commission.