Login Register
Follow Us

3,400 youths married forcibly in Bihar last year

PATNA: It may be a cultural shock for many, but over 3,400 youths were kidnapped for forced marriage, locally known as “Pakadua Vivah”, in Bihar last year, official data shows.

Show comments

Patna, February 4

It may be a cultural shock for many, but over 3,400 youths were kidnapped for forced marriage, locally known as “Pakadua Vivah”, in Bihar last year, official data shows. 

“As many as 3,405 youths were kidnapped for forced marriage in the state. In most of the cases, Pakadua Vivah was solemnised at gunpoint or threats to their life and their families,” a police official said. Last month, the Pakadua Vivah of an engineer in a village in Patna hit the national headlines when he refused to keep his newlywed wife after he was abducted and forced to marry at gunpoint.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

Taking the trend seriously, the state police have asked all the district Superintendents of Police to be on alert to check such incidents in the coming marriage season, known as “lagan”, beginning this month.

Mahender Yadav, an activist working in flood-prone Koshi region in northern Bihar, said kidnapping for Pakadua Vivah was nothing unusual in the state. It has been reported for years. “What is alarming is that its number is increasing. It is an old social problem in Bihar due to the demand for dowry. Girls’ families have been kidnapping suitable youths for forcible marriage. Families often use friends and relatives, and sometimes even hire professional criminals, to carry out abductions for marriages,” he said.

Even the National Crime Records Bureau Report 2015, which is the most recent official figure available, confirms that Bihar is at the top in the country when it comes to the abduction of above 18-year-old males.  The number of abducted males in Bihar in the 18 to 30 age-group was 1,096 in 2015. The state alone accounted for nearly 17 per cent of the national figure in the category. — IANS

Show comments
Show comments

Top News

Most Read In 24 Hours