Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): In an unusual tale of love and determination, a youth from Uttar Pradesh travelled around 700 km to Datia to fulfil a challenge set by his girlfriend, only to collapse from exhaustion at the Collectorate premises before finally getting the much-awaited selfie with Datia Collector Swapnil Wankhede.
The youth, identified as Rajkumar Gupta from Chandoli district in Uttar Pradesh, told officials that his girlfriend had challenged him to prove his love by travelling to Datia and taking a selfie with the Collector. According to Gupta, she had warned him that she would stop speaking to him if he failed to fulfil the condition.
A driver by profession, Gupta boarded a train to Jhansi and later travelled by bus to Datia. After reaching the town, he checked into a local hotel and went to the Collectorate on Saturday hoping to meet the Collector. However, being a holiday, the office remained closed and he could not meet Wankhede.
Gupta stayed back in Datia for another day and returned to the Collectorate on Monday. At that time, the Collector was attending a Time Limit (TL) meeting. While waiting outside the office, Gupta collapsed due to exhaustion and was rushedthe to hospital.
When Collector Wankhede learnt about the unusual circumstances, he visited the hospital to meet Gupta. During the interaction, Gupta said all his money had been spent on travel and hotel expenses. He also informed the Collector that he had finally managed to send the selfie to his girlfriend, who was now happy.
“Now the fear of breakup is over,” Gupta reportedly told officials at the hospital.
Moved by the youth’s story, Wankhede wished him a speedy recovery and invited him to his bungalow for a cordial meeting after he regained his health.
