Woman leaves UP's Ballia on bicycle to marry ‘lover’ in Surat, handed over to parents

VARANASI: A 24-year-old girl from Maniyar village in Ballia left her home on Tuesday to go to Surat — 1,600 kms away — on a bicycle to marry the man she had met on social media. When she was stopped on suspicion by some traders on the district borders, she was found to be carrying a lehenga and bridal ornaments in her bag. The traders alerted the local police, who contacted her parents. When her parents claimed that she was a bit mentally unstable, the police handed over the woman to her family. Reports said she had travelled only 20 km from home when some traders of Shankarpur market in Ballia noticed her activities as doubtful and alerted the police. Local Bansdih Road police called her parents and handed over the girl to them after she divulged the actual reason for leaving home.
“On January 17, some traders of Shankarpur market alerted us about a girl they suspected to have fled from home,” said station officer Bansdih Road ,Rajkapur Singh on Thursday. “When women police started interrogating her, she initially tried to mislead them by telling them that she was going to Prayagraj to appear for some examination. But when the police continued questioning her she confessed that she had left home to go to Surat to meet her lover,” he added. She told the police that she came in contact with a youth of Surat through a social media platform. Following a long spell of chatting, she expressed a wish to meet him, however, the Surat boy expressed his inability in visiting Ballia, mentioning his work engagements. The girl, on January 17, decided to leave for Surat on her bicycle with her bag containing bridal items apart from daily use articles.
But before she could reach Shankarpur market her mobile phone’s battery was drained out. On reaching the market she asked some shopkeepers to help her in charging her phone. The local traders got suspicious over her desperation and alerted the police. Singh said that on being contacted, her parents said that they were searching for her since morning.