CHANDIGARH: Fifty-year-old gangster Mainpal Dhilla, alias Badli, who is serving life sentences in three murder cases at Hisar Central Jail, married his Cambodian partner, Meta Chan, on Thursday after being granted 12-hour custody parole by the high court.
Dhilla, a resident of Badli village in Jhajjar district, was brought to Dulina Farm on the Jhajjar-Gurugram road, where the ceremony was held. The couple married according to Hindu rites, with their children present.
A police officer said Dhilla was brought under tight security to solemnise the marriage. He is out on a 12-hour custody-parole from 8 am and return to jail by 8pm when his parole period ends. The bride and her family members have already arrived in Jhajjar. Dhilla married his Cambodian partner, Meta Chan, the official said.
The gangster had met Chan after fleeing to Cambodia while jumping parole eight years ago. Dhilla was granted six weeks' parole from Hisar Central Jail in 2018 and was expected to return to prison by August 29 that year.
He jumped parole and later, in July 2019, fled to Siem Reap, Cambodia, after obtaining a passport using forged documents. He then settled there and ran a business. The couple started living together and had children. Three of her children are accompanying her in Jhajjar.
In September last year, Dhilla, a notorious criminal wanted by the Haryana Police, was arrested after being extradited from Cambodia in an operation coordinated by the Central Bureau of Investigation in collaboration with the state police and the Union ministries of home and external affairs.
Dhilla's criminal record dates back to 2000. He is facing around 22 criminal cases, including murder, attempt to murder, robbery, dacoity, criminal conspiracy and illegal possession of weapons. In 2014, while he was lodged in Bhondsi Jail, his name also surfaced in the killing of another inmate.
After he absconded while on parole in 2018, the Haryana Police announced a reward for his arrest and listed him among its most-wanted criminals.
Following an Interpol Red Notice issued on November 6, 2024, Cambodian authorities arrested him on July 24, 2025. He was extradited to India on September 2, 2025, and taken into custody by the Haryana STF. He has remained in jail since then.