In a sudden turn of events that has taken both the public and media by surprise, Anju who had legally travelled from India to a remote village in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province converted to Islam and married her Pakistani lover, Nasrullah on Tuesday (25).
According to police reports, she now goes by the name Fatima.
The couple celebrated their union through a nikah ceremony conducted at the district courts in Upper Dir.
A video capturing their joyful moments, including visits to scenic mountainous spots in the region while holding hands, has been circulating widely on social media.
During the court proceedings, the couple, Nasrullah and Fatima (formerly known as Anju), appeared at the district court in Dir Bala.
The event was witnessed by Nasrullah's family members, police personnel, and lawyers.
Interestingly, this development occurred just one day after Fatima had previously stated that she had no intentions of marrying Nasrullah and planned to return to India when her visa expired on August 20.
Similarly, Nasrullah had denied any love affair with Fatima in a statement to news agency PTI on Monday, asserting that he had no plans of marrying her.
Their connection initially began as friends on Facebook back in 2019, Business Today reported.
The father of Anju, Gaya Prasad Thomas has said she was as good as dead for her family back home.
She has ruined the future of her two children, said her father, speaking to reporters at Bouna village in Gwalior district of Madhya Pradesh.
“The way she ran away leaving her two children and husband behind.... she did not even think of her children. If she wanted to do this, she should have divorced her husband first. She is no more (alive) for us,” he said.
When asked if she had converted to Islam, he said he had no information in this regard.
“What will happen to her children, her husband? Who will take care of her children – 13-year-old girl and five-year-old boy? She has ruined the future of her children and the husband. Who will take care of her kids...we will have to do it,” Thomas said.
Asked whether he will appeal to the Indian government to bring her back, Thomas said he would do no such thing.
"I pray...to let her die there," he added.
Thomas also said that Anju was not on speaking terms with him, and spoke only to her mother.
“I don't know how she got the passport, when she got the visa,” he said.
Asked about speculation in some quarters that there could be something more to the incident as his village is close to Tekanpur town where a major unit of the Border Security Force (BSF) is stationed, Thomas rejected the suggestion vehemently.
"No one raised any such issue with us. Only you (media) are raising this question. My kids have no criminal tendencies. I am ready to have any probe in the matter,” he said.
On Monday, Thomas had described his daughter as “mentally disturbed and eccentric.”
(With inputs from PTI)
Workers clean communication equipment aboard INS Surat on January 11