‘Wasn’t kidnapped.. I am in love with him,’ says woman in video after mother lodges abduction FIR against neighbours

Asked about the woman’s video claiming she was not abducted, Rathod said, “After the woman and the accused persons are found, an inquiry regarding the video would be conducted, and the allegations made by her family in the FIR would be verified.”

FIR, bandh call

The woman’s mother lodged the First Information Report (FIR) in connection with this case at the Bhigwan Police Station against two brothers from her neighbourhood.

The woman’s family claimed that she was about to get married in a few days. On Tuesday, they said she was allegedly abducted by two men from a different community, from the market in Bhigwan town.

According to the FIR, the police said the woman, her mother, and brother went to a jewellery shop in Bhigwan market to buy gold ornaments for her wedding.

While they were returning, two men allegedly abducted the woman in a tempo vehicle after throwing chilly powder on her brother and mother, and attacking them with a wooden stick. It also alleged that the two men robbed the gold ornaments from the woman’s mother.

As per the FIR, the police booked the two suspects under sections 137 (2) (kidnapping) and 309 (4) (robbery) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Several right-wing activists gathered at the Bhigwan Police Station Tuesday night, who gave a call for a ‘bandh’ the next day. On Wednesday, the Bhigwan market was closed.

As the situation became tense, Sandeep Singh Gill, Superintendent of Police, Pune Rural, visited Bhigwan and appealed to the people from different sections to maintain peace. Gill told reporters that six teams had been formed to investigate the case and that they had launched a search for the woman and two suspects.

Meanwhile, a group of Muslims also wrote to the Bhigwan police station to condemn the alleged abduction of the woman. The Muslim community too demanded strong action against the suspects.

On Wednesday, right-wing activists called for a protest under the banner of Hindu Akrosh Morcha in the presence of BJP MLA Gopichan Padalkar and NCP (Ajit Pawar) MLA Sangram Jagtap, demanding the arrest of the alleged kidnappers.

However, the police said no permission was granted for the protest.

‘Misleading video’

On Wednesday, before the protest, the woman’s purported video surfaced, in which she is seen with the man accused of abducting her.

The woman can be heard in the purported video saying that she willingly went with the man because they have been in love for the past 9 years. The woman denied that her mother and brother were attacked by the suspects.

However, BJP MLA Padalkar claimed that the abductors forced the woman to release the video, which was forwarded to her family members and the police to mislead them. Padalkar said he has spoken to the woman’s family, and asked the police to take action against the accused.

At the Hindu Akrosh Morcha protest in Bhigwan on Wednesday, Padalkar and Sangram Jagtap said Hindus should be aware of such “conspiracies”. The woman’s family members also took part in the protest.