Groom kidnapping or ‘Pakadwa Vivah’ is a phenomenon quite common in parts of Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh wherein bachelors are forced to marry while being held at gunpoint. Potential bachelors, mostly those with financial and social security, are kidnapped by the bride’s family and often beaten into submission.
New Delhi: A veterinarian, called in to check on a sick animal, who was kidnapped by three people and forcibly married in Begusarai in Bihar on Tuesday.
According to reports, veterinary doctor Satyam Kumar Jha, a native of Pidhauli village under Teghra police station, visited for treatment of cattle on Monday afternoon and was abducted by a group of people and forcibly married to a girl.
Following the incident, the father of the veterinarian complained to the police.
“The Father of the boy (veterinarian) had given a written complaint to the police station. We’ve asked the SHO and other officials to investigate the matter. Strict actions will be taken,” said Yogendra Kumar, SP, Begusarai.
Groom kidnapping or ‘Pakadwa Vivah’ is a phenomenon quite common in parts of Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh wherein bachelors are forced to marry while being held at gunpoint. Potential bachelors, mostly those with financial and social security, are kidnapped by the bride’s family and often beaten into submission.
However, it is still not clear whether Satyam was wedded forcefully or the knot was tied with his consent. Though the police have filed a complaint, no arrests had been made till the filing of this report.
The family members have not been able to connect with the victim and police are trying to find out his whereabouts.
A few years ago, a similar incident involving an engineer in the state attracted attention from the national media.
Then 29-year-old Vinod Kumar, a junior manager at Bokaro Steel Plant was beaten and forced to wed a woman in the Pandarak area in Patna. Videos of Kumar dressed as a groom and begging for the rituals to be stopped went viral on social media, drawing widespread condemnation.
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