17-year-old abducted for forced marriage in Bihar, complaint lodged

PATNA: A 17-year-old boy was allegedly abducted at gunpoint and forced to marry a 14-year-old girl at Dhurgaon village falling under Bharrahi police station limits in Bihar’s Madhepura district, his father alleged in a police complaint. The incident took place on December 26. The boy was abducted along with his cousin when they were on the way to attend a fair located at Dhurgaon Tola.
In the police complaint, the boy’s father Sanjay Yadav, a farmer from Bakhri, alleged that his son was waylaid by eight persons including Mahesh Yadav, Mithu Kumar and Amar Kumar. They abducted his son and nephew at gunpoint and took them to Mahesh’s house, he alleged.
It comes barely a month after the Patna high court set aside a 10-year-old forced marriage — called “pakadwa vivah” in local parlance — on account of the ritual of ‘saat phere’ or seven vows around sacred fire not being completed, as required under the provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.
“The matter came to light when my nephew returned home on December 28 after being released from the clutches of the abductor. He informed that his cousin tied the nuptial knot with a girl and also showed pictures about the forced marriage,” said Sanjay, adding that the named accused tied the boy with ropes, snatched his cell phone and knotted with a 14-year-old girl.
Later Sanjay approached the nearby police station. The station house officer (SHO) of Bharrahi police out-post Manoj Kumar Bachchan said that police have received an application from a farmer Sanjay Yadav. “Police are investigating the matter and action will be taken against the culprits according to law,” he added.
Police say that ‘pakadua vivah’ or forced marriage is a regular occurrence in the region. Earlier on November 29, 22-year-old Gautam Kumar, a teacher at an upgraded middle school at Repura in Vaishali district, was allegedly kidnapped at gunpoint from school when on duty and forced to marry a girl at a nearby village.
Such cases were reported mainly from Munger, Nawada, Khagaria and Begusarai districts where prospective bridegrooms are kidnapped for marriage. According to the State Crime Records Bureau, 7,194 forced marriage cases were reported in the state from January to November 2020, 10,925 in 2019, 10,310 in 2018 and 8,972 in 2017.