Indian released from Pakistan jail to wed Sunday
May 28th, 2011 - 12:22 pm ICT by IANS
Chandigarh, May 28 (IANS) Gopal Dass, who returned to India last month after languishing in Pakistani jails for nearly 27 years, has finally found his love in the hilly state of Himachal Pradesh. The 52-year-old is all set to marry a Shimla girl 14 years his junior Sunday.
“This is an arranged marriage and we want to keep it a low profile affair. The girl is related to my wife,” Gopal’s elder brother Anand Veer Dass told IANS Saturday.
The wedding will be solemnised at a gurudwara (Sikh shrine) in the neighbouring Panchkula town.
“The marriage will be solemnised in the afternoon and we have invited very few guests. Following this, there would be a small reception party at our house (in Chandimandir here). We cannot have a big party due to financial constraints,” he added.
The would-be groom, however, was reluctant to talk about his marriage.
“I am very busy in some personal work and cannot discuss anything at this moment,” Gopal told IANS.
Gopal Dass was only 25 when he was arrested in Pakistan in 1984 and jailed on charges of being a spy.
He spent the next 27 years in various jails in that country.
Gopal was set to be released by the end of this year. However, March 27, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari announced he would be let off on humanitarian grounds - ahead of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s visit to Mohali to watch the India-Pakistan World Cup semifinal March 30.
He crossed into India through the Attari-Wagah border checkpost, about 30 km from the Sikh holy city of Amritsar April 7, from where he went to his ancestral village Bheni Mia Khan in Gurdaspur district of Punjab.
After his release, Gopal had condemned the Indian government and security agencies for not making any effort to secure his release.
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Tags: amritsar, ancestral village, asif ali zardari, attari, chandigarh, elder brother, financial constraints, gilani, himachal pradesh, holy city, humanitarian grounds, india pakistan, indian government, jails, personal work, punjab, reception party, security agencies, world cup semifinal, yousuf