NEW DELHI: It’s as filmi as it gets. Imagine an Indian man obsessed with an online game who comes across a woman gamer from Pakistan’s Karachi. They spend hours online every day, and their bond deepens to the extent that she leaves home — along with her four children — to be with him. Only to be arrested by UP Police.
Seema Ghulam Haider and Sachin Meena got in touch while playing PUBG in 2019 as a dramatic love story unfolded between the two living more than 1,300 km apart. Seema is 30 while Sachin is 25 and lives in Rabupura area of Greater Noida, where he runs a provision store.
The police arrested the couple on Monday, and later the man’s father. The Pakistani woman is accused of entering the country illegally and the other two of sheltering her. A local court on Tuesday remanded all three to 14-day judicial custody. Seema’s children — three girls and a boy, all below 7 — would stay with their mother in jail, police said.
“I want to stay with her. I will take care of Seema and all her children,” Sachin told reporters before he was taken to the court in Greater Noida. Seema said she and Sachin were passionate about PUBG and would play the online game for hours daily. While they got in touch in 2019, they first met in person in March this year in Kathmandu, where the two stayed together for seven days.
Then they both returned to their homes. In May, Seema came to India through Nepal on bus with her children. She said she got the idea for the journey from videos on YouTube. ‘I wanted to get married to Sachin. I want to stay here only and don’t want to go back,” she said, almost breaking down in tears as police escorted her to the court on Tuesday.
Met online in 2019
Seema Ghulam Haider and Sachin Meena got in touch while playing PUBG in 2019 as a dramatic love story unfolded between the two living 1,300 km apart.Seema is 30 while Sachin is 25 and lives Greater Noida