Indian Engineer Kidnapped By Bride’s Family And Forced to Marry

A 29-year-old engineer, Vinod Kumar, was reportedly kidnapped and forced to marry a woman at gunpoint in the Indian state of Bihar.
He was, however, rescued later after his family approached the police. The girl’s family is still on a run.

The practice is common in the state where poor families cannot afford a dowry. On an average 3,000 cases of kidnapping for marriage are reported from Bihar every year.

The incident is a part of ‘Pakraua Vivah’ (forced marriage), which is an old practice in the district. With dowry demands rising, the families of girls seek help from criminal gangs that kidnap youths and force them into wedlock.

Though forced marriages take place among all castes, it is more prevalent among the upper castes where the demand for dowry is more.

In an exclusive interview to India TV, the engineer’s brother Awadhesh told that the whole act was a well-planned conspiracy hatched by one Surendra Yadav, who got in touch with their family about a year ago, when the youth’s father was admitted in hospital while suffering from brain hemorrhage.