Woman in Bhigwan ‘abduction’ row returns to mother, uncle after court order

Deputy Superintendent of Police (Baramati division) Sudarshan Rathod said that as per the court’s order, the woman was allowed to go with her mother and uncle.

On February 17, the woman’s mother had lodged a First Information Report (FIR) saying that her daughter had allegedly been kidnapped by two men from a market in Bhigwan town in Indapur taluka at around 3.40 pm.

The FIR alleged that before kidnapping the woman, the two accused residing in her neighbourhood allegedly threw chilli powder at her mother and brother and assaulted them with a wooden stick. It was also alleged that the two men had robbed the mother’s gold ornaments.

But the woman released a video on February 18, saying that she had willingly gone with one of the accused because they had been in a relationship for the past nine years. The woman also denied that her mother and brother were attacked by the accused.

On February 20, the woman and the two accused appeared at Baramati City police station and recorded their statement. Her statement was also recorded before the Baramati court where she maintained that she was not kidnapped. In court, however, she reportedly said that they have been in a relationship for the last year.

The incident had sparked tensions in the town, with Hindutva groups calling for a bandh on February 18, and a protest being held under the banner of the ‘Hindu Akrosh Morcha’ in the presence of BJP MLA Gopichand Padalkar and NCP MLA Sangram Jagtap.

The MLAs claimed the accused had forced the woman to release a video saying she had not been abducted and also pointed to discrepancies in her statements to the police and the court.