This story is from June 26, 2019

Gaya youth kidnapped for ‘Pakarua vivah’ in Nawada village

A 23-year-old college student from Gaya, who was on a trip to the famed Kakolat waterfall in Nawada with friends, was allegedly kidnapped, beaten up and forced to marry a teenage girl at gunpoint at a nearby village late on Sunday, police said.
Gaya youth kidnapped for ‘Pakarua vivah’ in Nawada village
Representative image
PATNA: A 23-year-old college student from Gaya, who was on a trip to the famed Kakolat waterfall in Nawada with friends, was allegedly kidnapped, beaten up and forced to marry a teenage girl at gunpoint at a nearby village late on Sunday, police said.
Nityanand Kumar Rai, who was rescued by the police and is undergoing treatment at a government hospital in Gaya, fell victim to what is colloquially known as ‘pakadua vivah’ or forced marriage, which cops say is a regular occurrence in the region.

In his police complaint, Nityanand Kumar Rai alleged that he and his friends were waylaid by some youths, who came on three bikes and forcibly took them to Singhana village, where he was forced to tie the knot with a Class X student of a Nawada school.
“I was not only threatened but also beaten up when I refused to follow their orders. Me and my friends were held captive in separate rooms. Around midnight, some residents came with illegal firearms, threatened me and forced me to marry the girl,” Rai told the police.
The next morning Rai was told to stay at his ‘newly wedded’ wife’s house while his two friends were released with a warning not to inform the police.
His friends, however, informed Nityanand’s father Shankar Rai, a resident of Paharpur in neighbouring Gaya district, about the incident. Rupau police swung into action and rescued the youth from the girl’s house after the intervention of senior police officers.
“The girl was taken to Nawada (civil) court to record her statement but the court has directed her to appear on Wednesday,” Rupau SHO Santosh Kumar said. Further action will be taken on the court’s directive since it’s a case of ‘
pakarua vivah’, he added.
The ‘bride’, however, claimed that she knew the man’s family. “I had met Nityanand when he visited the village on June 15 to attend a wedding ceremony. We knew each other for long,” she told the police when she was called for questioning.
The police have lodged a case under Section 366 (kidnapping for marriage) of IPC against the girl’s family members. SHO Kumar said ‘pakarua vivah’ is quite common in the region. Such cases were reported mainly from Munger, Nawada, Khagaria and Begusarai districts where prospective bridegrooms are kidnapped for marriage.
In December 2017, a 29-year-old Bokaro Steel City engineer was kidnapped from Patna and forced to marry a young girl. A video showing the forced marriage of the engineer had gone viral on social media and an FIR was lodged in January 2018.
Statistics available with the state crime record bureau revealed that altogether 1,097 cases of ‘pakarua vivah’ have been reported in the state so far. In 2018, a total of 4,301 cases were registered in the state compared to 3,678 in 2017 while 3,070 men were kidnapped for ‘pakadua vivah’ in 2016, 3,000 in 2015 and 2,526 in 2014.
“What is noticeable is that such cases are on the rise in the state,” a senior IPS officer said. The state government has directed the police to take tough action against those demanding dowry. The cops have been told to implement the provisions of Anti-Dowry Act more effectively.
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