Bihar Teacher kidnapped for Pakadwa Vivah (forced marriage), recovered by the police

Patna: A 23-year-old government school teacher Gautam Kumar, appointed recently through the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) exams, was allegedly abducted and forced to marry a girl at gunpoint.

According to reports, he was kidnapped on Wednesday by three to four armed men and taken to an undisclosed location. Gautam Kumar was appointed as a teacher at Utkramit Madhyamik School (middle school) in Repura, Patepur in Vaishali district.

Sources said that the family members of the abducted teacher launched a protest and blocked the state highway after Gautam’s wedding pictures went viral on Wednesday.

Reports also suggest that Gautam’s grandfather Rajendra Rai lodged a complaint with the Patepur police station on Thursday. Responding to the outcry, the police initiated a search operation and recovered Gautam Kumar from the Narayanpur Dedhpura village under the Mahanar police station area.

The police also arrested a man involved in the incident and registered a case of kidnapping under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

“The police initiated a search operation and recovered the abducted school teacher within 24 hours of the incident. One person has been arrested and efforts are on to find others involved in the case”, SP Vaishali said in a statement.  

In his statement to the police, Gautam Kumar said that he was taken to an undisclosed location, where he was forced to marry a girl of one Rakesh Rai who is a local businessman. Gautam Kumar also informed the police that he was brutally assaulted by the armed men when he protested against the marriage.

After being rescued by the police, the school teacher refused to accept the marriage citing a recent High Court ruling that invalidated a ten-year-old forced marriage of Army personnel from Nawada district in Bihar.

Last month, the Patna High Court had set aside the Pakadwa vivah (forced marriage) of an Army personnel who was abducted and forced to marry a girl at gunpoint ten years ago.

In 2013 the army man was kidnapped by armed criminals hired by the bride’s family. He, however, escaped from the bride’s house and returned to resume his duty. He later moved the family court seeking annulment of marriage. The Patna High Court recently gave its verdict invalidating forced marriage.