Mukesh Pathak, a shooter of the notorious Santosh Jha gang, thanked the police for helping him find a life partner inside prison.

Pathak, facing charges of murder and extortion tied the nuptial knot at a simple function held in the newly established Sheohar district jail on Monday. The bride, Puja Kumari, is lodged in the same jail on charges of kidnapping for ransom.

The wedding of the two undertrials was solemnised in the presence of senior police and civil administrative officers, including Sheohar superintendent of police Himanshu Shankar Trivedi and sub-divisional officer Md Warish Khan.

Sources in the prison department said Pathak fell in love with Puja, a final-year student of a Patna-based polytechnic institute, about four months ago. The two used to travel together in the prisoners’ van during their appearances in the district court.

Pathak (32), allegedly involved in the murder of former Maoist leader Gaurishankar Jha, proposed to 25-year-old Puja a few days before Dussehra. The duo petitioned to the court seeking permission for their marriage on Dashami, considered an auspicious day for Hindus.

The court approved their proposal and asked the officers of the district administration and the jail to facilitate the wedding inside the prison. However, their wedding was solemnised on Monday.

Since no family members were present for the ceremony, jailor R.N. Shafi played the role of the girl’s father and performed the kanyadan. The superintendent of police and the sub-divisional officer were witnesseses.

The other inmates of the jail were the guests at the wedding. The jailor, however, did not forget to give dakshina (fee) to the priest, who was called from outside to perform the rituals. The marriage was solemnised in the temple on the jail premises.

Though married, the bride and the groom have been lodged in separate wards of the prison.

“Everything has been done on the instruction of the court. I don’t see any wrong in getting married inside the jail when the bride and the groom are adults,” said the jailor.

Earlier, a marriage was solemnised inside Aurangabad divisional jail.