Jailed Haryana gangster Mainpal Dhilla was granted a special 12-hour custody parole on Thursday to marry his Cambodian partner Meta Chan. The life-term prisoner, who is behind bars in Jhajjar district jail, was taken out of custody under tight police security for the wedding ceremony held at a farmhouse near the prison.
Dhilla was allowed to leave the jail at 8 am and was to return by 8 pm. Police personnel were present during that walk in and security around the wedding venue was put in place. Dhilla was briefly taken out of prison and kept in custody during the ceremony but was not treated as a free man during the parole period.
The 50-year-old gangster, a resident of Badli in Jhajjar, married Meta Chan, a Cambodian national. The wedding was caught up with many as the couple met while Dhilla was living in Cambodia after fleeing India during a previous parole period. The couple have four children and are living together in Cambodia.
Dhilla Met Cambodian Partner While On The Run
Dhilla’s relationship with Meta Chan began after he fled India in 2018. At the time, he had been released from Hisar Central Jail on six weeks' parole in July 2018. After that released period, he apparently absconded and left India.
Dhilla traveled to Cambodia with a fake identity and started to live there. He is said to have established a business in Cambodia where he lived with Chan and their children. His time abroad continued for a few years before Indian authorities began working together in search of him.
His arrest followed international cooperation between Indian and Cambodian authorities. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was able to obtain an Interpol Red Notice against Dhilla by Haryana Police in November 2024. The investigators then worked with Thai and Cambodian authorities to track his movements.
According to the case details, Dhilla traveled from Thailand to Cambodia through Kolkata and Bangkok. Cambodian authorities later helped trace him, leading to his arrest in July 2025. He was extradited to India in September 2025 and brought to face the cases pending against him.
#WATCH | Jhajjar, Haryana: Gangster Mainpal Badli arrived at the venue under police security for his wedding. The court has granted him 12-hour parole to marry his Cambodian partner. pic.twitter.com/A10WvsnRBM
— ANI (@ANI) September 24, 2026
Multiple Criminal Cases Against Gangster Dhilla
Mainpal Badli, also known as Dhilla, faces 22 criminal cases including murder charges. He had been serving a life sentence for convictions in three cases registered in 2007 and 2010.
Authorities have also accused Dhilla of involvement in a killing while he was in prison. His criminal history and history of absconding made security arrangements surrounding Thursday’s wedding particularly stringent.
The custody parole was therefore accompanied by a large police presence. The officials also needed to make sure Dhilla could participate in the marriage ceremony while still under custody and that he was safely transported back to jail after the allowed 12-hour period.
High-Security Weddings Involving Jailed Gangsters
Dhilla's wedding is the latest in a series of high-security marriage ceremonies involving jailed gangsters in Delhi-Haryana. In recent years, other accused or convicted gangsters have also been granted brief custody parole to attend their weddings under strict police supervision.
Among the most famous of them are Sandeep, popularly known as Kala Jathedi, and Yogesh alias Tunda Dahiya, whose marriages were also carried out while they were temporarily taken out of prison under high security.
Such parole arrangements are generally very strict in nature. The prisoners are supervised by law enforcement and their movements are restricted to the given location and duration of time. It is the objective of this arrangement to enable the prisoner to enjoy the personal event and not escape or disrupt the event.
For Dhilla, Thursday's 12-hour parole was the opportunity to marry Meta Chan after years of separation from India and his return to custody. At the farmhouse, the gangster was expected to be taken back to Jhajjar district jail before the end of the parole period.
The unusual circumstances of the ceremony—an international fugitive history, a Cambodian partner, multiple criminal cases, and a life sentence—have made the security challenges authorities face when prisoners are granted temporary custody parole for important personal occasions more pressing.
