Harpreet Bajwa By

Express News Service

CHANDIGARH: They met on a language learning app, and fell in love despite staying in two continents. Rohtak resident Niranjan Kashyap, 22, and Mexican national Dana Joheri Oliveros Cruise, 21, also got married dramatically with some help from the district collector, who kept his court open at night for officially “sealing” the trans-continental relationship in the times of Corona.

Dana and her mother had landed in India on February 11, and applied for permission to get married under the Special Marriage Act six days later. The month-long notice period ended on March 18, but Dana and Niranjan were unable to get married as the country went into lockdown.

The couple approached the Rohtak District Collector, who then sent a request to the Mexican Embassy and other offices for ‘No-Objection Certificate (NOC)’. Once the NOC arrived, the DM opened the door of his court on the night of April 13 to solemnize their marriage.

Kashyap told this newspaper that he had met Dana on the app in 2015. “Dana came to India on my birthday in November 2017 and we got engaged on December 4 the same year.”

“On February 17, we applied for registration under the Special Marriage Act . We submitted an application to the collector after which he conducted our wedding.’’ Though there were grand plans of inviting 600 guests, only three people saw the couple exchange garlands at the collector’s office.