Bihar police aspirant allegedly forced into pakadwa vivah; rescued, say police

A young man, Nitish Kumar, 22, of Jodi Pokhar village of Samastipur district was allegedly abducted and forced into marriage in what is traditionally known as pakadwa vivah in Bihar. The incident occurred on Saturday (February 7, 2026). The youth was later rescued by the district police, which said investigations are on in the case.

Mr. Kumar was preparing for police recruitment and, while returning from a library late on February 7, he claimed he was offered a drink laced with a sedative by a group of people and later beaten and forced to marry a girl at a temple in Morwa village, about four kilometres away. The bride is said to be a resident of Chakraja Ali village. A case has been lodged in this regard at Shahpur Patori police station of the district.

Meanwhile, a video of the marriage went viral on social media in which the groom is seen appearing intoxicated and some women are singing local marriage songs, while the bride is sitting near the groom in traditional wedding attire covering her face with a long ghunghat (veil). The bride is said to be the daughter of Shankar Rai of Chakraja Ali village. The incident is said to have occurred on February 7 but, after the video went viral, the local police rescued the groom on Tuesday (February 10, 2026).

In another video, Mr. Kumar was purportedly shown locked inside a room, pleading for help after being held captive for 24 hours. “During my captivity in the room I somehow manage to record a video which, later, went viral on social media,” Mr. Kumar said in his complaint to the police.

“Nitish Kumar’s family members were searching for him after he went missing on February 7. After seeing the video, they informed the police about it and lodged the complaint at Patori police station and the police subsequently, rescued Mr. Kumar and handed him over to his family,” Deputy Superintendent of Police, Shahpur Patori, B.K. Medhavi, said.

However, the station incharge of the police station, Anil Kumar, said, “No arrest has been made yet in the case as the family members of the bride has claimed it was an arranged marriage and the villagers, earlier, had attempted to mediate between the two families but after recording the victim’s statement further action will be taken.”

Earlier, on November 29, 2023, a government school teacher, Gautam Kumar, was allegedly abducted from Maheya-Malpur village in Vaishali district of the State and forcibly married at gunpoint. A case was lodged at the local Patepur police station of the district. Even after being rescued, Mr. Gautam Kumar and his family members were afraid of becoming victims of violence from the bride’s family.

In Bihar, the illegal forceful marriage practice known as pakadwa vivah has existed for long, in which eligible bachelors are abducted, sometimes at gunpoint, and forced into wedlock with a girl, often from a poor family that cannot afford the payment of dowry. Though such incidents are rarer now, cases continue to surface occasionally from across the State. A significant number of such cases go unreported for fear of violence and societal pressure. Districts such as Begusarai, Lakhisarai, Munger, Khagaria and Nawada are considered hotbeds of pakadwa vivah.