Pakistani lawyer fights pro bono to free Indian man jailed for crossing border sans papers

AGRA: In a case that defies the prevailing hostility between their countries, a Pakistani lawyer has taken up — pro bono — the defence of an Indian labourer jailed for illegally crossing the border to meet a woman he had only ever seen on a screen. At a time when cross-border tensions have flared, the lawyer's gesture has become the only thread of hope for the man's distraught family in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh district. A district court in Pakistan's Mandi Bahauddin sentenced Badal Babu, 30, a daily wager from Nagla Khitkari village, to one year in prison and imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 for entering the country without valid documents. Babu had slipped past the heavily guarded frontier without a visa in late Dec, hoping to turn a two-year Facebook romance into something more permanent. Instead, he was arrested, charged under Pakistan's Foreigners Act, and now finds himself caught in the slow unravelling of love, disillusionment, and unintended consequences — set against a backdrop of deepening hostilities between the two countries. The family learned of his whereabouts only after receiving a call from a Pakistani cleric. Until then, they had believed he had travelled to Delhi for work. "He is in trouble," his father Kripal Singh told TOI. "After his arrest, I requested PM Modi and CM Yogi to bring my child back." Singh and his wife Gayatri Devi said news of the sentence had left them devastated. "Relations between India and Pakistan have worsened.I don't know what will happen to my son," he said.The only steady thread of hope has come in the form of Pakistani lawyer Faiyaz Rame, who took up Babu's case for free and informed the family of the sentence on Thursday. Rame now plans to appeal the ruling in a higher court. But with cross-border dialogue at a standstill, the family fears that even a legal resolution may be slow to arrive. "He has not charged us a single rupee," said Singh. "Without him, we wouldn't even know where to begin." Gayatri added, "He is heaven-sent. We never imagined someone in Pakistan would help us like this."Babu had been working in a garment factory in Delhi's Gandhi Park. At home, he was known for his quiet nature and diligence. What no one — not his parents, co-workers, or neighbours — had known was that he had been in regular contact with Sana Rani from Mandi Bahauddin district, across a border. According to Pakistani officials quoted by a local YouTuber, Babu had made two failed attempts to enter the country before succeeding on the third try. After crossing over without documents, he reportedly converted to Islam and began identifying as ‘Rehan', claiming to be from Karachi. He took up work as a shepherd near Sana's village, concealing his identity from locals. But the relationship did not unfold as he had imagined. After his arrest on Dec 27, the woman told police that while they had been in touch over social media for more than two years, she had no intention of marrying him. Babu was charged under sections 13 and 14 of Pakistan's Foreigners Act, 1946, and remanded to judicial custody. In Nagla Khitkari, the news has stirred a mix of sympathy, disbelief, and quiet discussion. "He never mentioned anything to anyone," said a villager. "We just thought he was working in Delhi."