BENGALURU: A 23-year-old woman from Ramanagara district was in for the shock of her life when she received a Facebook notification. The man she had been dating for over six years had married another woman.
All was well in the relationship between the two BPO employees Shashank (29) and Jessica (names changed). Shashank, who hails from Kalaburagi, left Bengaluru telling Jessica he was going home to attend his brother’s wedding. Little did she know what would follow. An unsuspecting Jessica had even wished him well.
“When she was on the way to her office, she logged in to Facebook. A notification popped up informing her about his marriage. He had married another girl,” said a police official.
The girl then tried reaching out to Shashank, but he had switched off his phone. Heartbroken, Jessica attempted suicide, police said. “Some of her friends then convinced her to lodge a complaint at Parihar, a helpline at the City Police Commissioner’s office. We issued a notice to the boy’s family and asked them to be present before us,” police said.
Fearing arrest, Shanshank’s mother offered to get Jessica also married to Shashank and accept her as the second daughter-in-law. Counsellors at Parihar intervened and told the family that it was illegal to do so.
Shashank’s family told the police that he informed his parents about Jessica a few years ago. They said they had no objections to the relationship. They claimed she had delayed responding to his marriage proposal fearing consequences at her home.
The girl was later counselled by volunteers at Parihar for depression. The counsellors said, “The girl is recovering and she has started going back to work.”