A man in India who fell in love with his mother-in-law and ended up marrying her has now realised the folly of his ways and filed for divorce.

Suraj Mahto, 22, hit the headlines in June when he abandoned his wife Lalita and married her mother, 42-year-old Asha Devi.

The unusual affair began when Mrs Devi came to stay with the couple in the village of Puraini in the impoverished state of Bihar last year.

Suraj Mahto (right) fell in love with his mother-in-law Asha Devi (left), who is 20 years his senior, after he fell ill and she cared for him

She looked after Mr Mahto when he became ill and they fell in forbidden love.

When she returned home he would ring her and they would talk for hours on the phone and would also visit her at her home.

Lalita found out about the affair and told her mother to stay away but she refused.

Lalita's cuckolded father, who worked in a factory in Delhi, was also unable to stop the passionate affair.

Eventually, despite the objections of villagers, the couple eloped and married on June 1 this year in nearby Dhamdaha.

Two months on the couple have both realised they have made a crazy mistake.

The Gulf News reported that Mr Mahto said: 'I have come to realise my folly now. I admit I have committed the mistake but will never repeat in future.

Bihar is one of India's poorest and most conservative states and the relationship between Mr Mahto and his mother-in-law in a rural part of the state shocked Biharis

'Now, I no longer treat her as my wife. Rather, I have started paying her regard as a mother.'

He said he would go on bended knee and beg Lalita to have him back. The couple have a son together.

Mrs Devi is also seeking to undo her actions.