Two days after bike-borne men allegedly abducted a newlywed woman from a wedding procession in Dahod district, the police on Wednesday “rescued” the woman from Bhopal and formally arrested four persons, including prime accused Mahesh Bhuriya. The police said that the woman, Usha (22), will record her statement before the magistrate on Thursday. The Katvara police arrested Bhuriya, Jitendra Bhabhor, Ankit Koli and one more person for allegedly abducting Usha on the night of May 19 while she was travelling to the residence of the groom in a wedding party that was proceeding from Salpada village to Bhatiwada. According to Dahod district police, Bhuriya and Usha were traced to Lilvad area in Bhopal, where they were staying with a friend, who was “unaware” about the abduction. Dahod Deputy Superintendent of Police Jagdish Singh Bhandari told The Indian Express, "We traced the accused to Bhopal, where he had put up with the victim at a friend's PG accommodation. The friend was unaware about the abduction, as Bhuriya had only told him that they would be staying in his accommodation for some important work.” “What was the further plan, we will know during the investigation. We have learnt that Bhuriya and the victim knew each other but a further probe into the motive of the abduction is yet to be carried out," he added. Senior police officers said that in her primary statement, Usha has said that her family had been against her match with Bhuriya, whom she knew for over six years. An officer said, "The victim has said that she intended to marry Bhuriya but her family married her off to Rohit Amaliyar (Usha's husband), the complainant in the case.” “The woman will also record her statement before the magistrate when the accused are produced in court, which is when the fate of the case will be decided, as the complainant is her husband while she is also an adult herself. For now, she has chosen to stay with her parents instead of going to her husband's house." the officer added. The incident had occurred around 9 pm on Sunday when the wedding procession was passing by Navagam village in Dahod. Amaliyar, in his complaint, has said that Bhuriya, along with eight others, arrived on motorcycles and intercepted a vehicle that the bride and the groom were travelling in. According to the FIR, Bhuriya snatched the keys of the vehicle and dragged out Usha before picking her up and escaping on a two-wheeler driven by Jitendra Bhabhor. The accused have been booked under sections 365 (abduction with the intention of wrongful confinement), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 143 (unlawful assembly) of the Indian Penal Code.
