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Digital Desk, Patna. These days the distance between happiness and fear seems to be shrinking rapidly in Bihar. Such incidents are coming to light from areas like Samastipur, Begusarai and Patna, where young men and women, teachers and even minors are being kidnapped, given intoxicants and forced to marry against their will. In the local dialect it is called ‘Pakdua Vivah’. These cases have left the victims and their families deeply traumatized.
In the videos circulating on social media, many women are seen helpless during wedding rituals. She tries to escape from the garland, calls for help and tries to free herself from the bondage. Some victims are kept confined in closed rooms for several days, while others are kidnapped at gunpoint.
The increasing incidents of forced marriage have exposed the dark side of this tradition. The differences within the society are deepening and the challenge before the police to maintain law and order is increasing. For those for whom marriage should have been a celebration of life, this experience becomes a nightmare whose pain lasts for a long time.
Forced marriage of student returning from library
A shocking case has come to light in Samastipur district. 22-year-old student Nitish Kumar lodged a complaint with the police alleging that he was kidnapped and forcibly married. According to him, on February 7, he was returning home from the library when his friends gave him cold drink which was allegedly laced with drugs. After drinking the drink he became unconscious.
Nitish says that when he regained consciousness, he came to know that he was taken to a nearby village and forcefully married to a girl. Police have started investigating the matter and the veracity of the entire incident is being investigated.
Government teacher kidnapped and forced to marry
In July 2024, 28-year-old government teacher Avnish Kumar, posted in Lakshmipur village of Barari block of Katihar district, claimed that he was kidnapped and forcibly married. He told that he is working as a plus-two teacher in a government school. According to him, when he was going to school in an e-rickshaw on Friday morning, two SUVs blocked the way. They allege that the girl's family members forcibly took her to a temple and got her married there under pressure.
A video of this alleged marriage also went viral on social media, in which Avneesh can be seen crying and allegedly performing the wedding rituals under pressure. However, a different story has emerged from the bride's side regarding this matter.
Forced marriage at gunpoint
In 2017, an incident that happened with Vinod Kumar, a senior officer of Bokaro Steel Plant, shocked everyone. 31-year-old Vinod alleges that on December 3, 2017, he was forcibly married at gunpoint in Gopikita village (Pandarak Police Station, District Patna).
According to Vinod, when he tried to complain to the police after the incident, his FIR was not registered. He says that he had to stay in the police station for one night due to pressure from the bride's brother and other relatives. Later, the video of the wedding rituals went viral, after which his family intervened and rescued him from there.
When the local police did not register the case, Vinod approached the Barh Sub-Divisional Court and filed a criminal case. Although Pandarak police later registered a complaint based on the statement of the village watchman, Vinod alleges that no concrete action was taken against the accused. He says that the accused are roaming freely and are continuously threatening him and his family.
After a legal process that lasted for more than a year, the Patna Family Court headed by Chief Justice Krishna Bihari Pandey declared the marriage void under Section 12(1)(C) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.
Vinod says that in the last one and a half year, he had to travel between Bokaro and Patna several times and appear personally in the court. Despite the court's decision being in his favor, his question is when will strict action be taken against those who tried to harm his career and family.
Young man who went to drop his sister to his in-laws was kidnapped
In 2022, a case of forced marriage came to light in Samastipur district. Vinod Kumar, 22, resident of Satha village of Dalsinghsarai police station area of Morwa block, had gone to drop his sister to her in-laws' house when he was allegedly kidnapped.
It was told that his brother-in-law Amarjeet Nath and some other villagers forcibly caught him and took him to Khudreshwar Sthan temple located in Tajpur police station area, where he was married to a girl from Vidyapati Nagar. The video of this incident also went viral on social media, in which Vinod was seen pleading for help from the villagers and relatives present during the marriage ceremony. Vinod alleged that he was forced into this marriage against his will.