Patna: Police in Bihar have arrested a bride and three of her relatives after they were accused of solemnising a marriage to a kidnapped man at gunpoint. All the accused people, including the bride, have been sent to jail.
The event of “forcible marriage”, locally known as “pakadua vivah”, is prevalent in some parts of Bihar where the bride’s relatives kidnap the youth of their choice and then solemnise their marriage at gunpoint without giving dowry. The incident took place in Gaighat locality of Muzaffarpur, a north Bihar district, some 80km from Patna by road, over the weekend.
Police said relatives of the bride, Julie Kumari, kidnapped Abhinay Kumar and took him to their house to solemnise their marriage. Even as the wedding was in progress, the ‘groom’s family came to know about the incident and reported the matter to the police.
Witnesses said when the police reached the bride’s house, she and her relatives attacked the police, forcing them to retreat. Then additional forces were deployed to rescue the man.
As per reports, the police beat up the woman’s family members when they clashed again and subsequently arrested four persons, including the bride, for attacking the police force. Soon after their arrest, they were produced in a local court that sent them to jail.
“We have jailed the bride, her brother, sisters and another relative for kidnapping the youth for marriage and creating obstruction on the way of the police in performing their duty,” a local senior police official, Muttafique Ahmad, told media today. He said the accused persons attacked the police force when they rushed to rescue the boy. “So we had to arrest them.”
Groom kidnapping, colloquially known as “Pakadua vivah” is a phenomenon in some parts of Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh in India wherein eligible bachelors are abducted by bride’s family and later forcefully married to avoid dowry costs. Considering the traditional regard for the marriage sacrament, most of these marriages are not annulled. Additionally, the groom may suffer criminal charges under the Indian dowry law and end up fighting lengthy legal battles.
As per an unofficial report, an average of eight young people are kidnapped for marriage every day in Bihar. Last year, around 3,000 youth were kidnapped for marriage, followed by 3,001 in 2015, 2,533 in 2014 and 2922 in 2013, according to state police data.
