Bihar: Teacher on her way to school kidnapped, beaten and forced to marry at gunpoint

Avnish Kumar, who had recently passed the Bihar Public Service Commission exam to become a teacher, was on his way to work on Friday when two Scorpios intercepted him. A dozen unknown assailants emerged from the vehicles brandishing weapons at him. Within hours, Avnish was kidnapped, beaten and forced to marry a woman with whom he was accused of having had a four-year relationship.

This incident adds to the growing number of ‘Pakadwa Vivah’ cases in Bihar, where single men are forced into marriage at gunpoint. According to police reports, 2024 saw the highest number of forced marriages in the last three decades.

Avnish Kumar, son of Sudhakar Rai and a resident of Rajaura in Begusarai district, was kidnapped by relatives of Gunjan, a woman from Lakhisarai district. Avnish and Gunjan were reportedly in a relationship for four years. Still, despite this, Avnish, who had recently got a government teaching job and was posted at a high school in Katihar, allegedly refused to marry her.

Gunjan claimed that their relationship was serious, with frequent stays in hotels and time together at Avnish’s residence in Katihar.

“He had promised to marry me and start a family,” Gunjan alleged. “He had also taken me to his school. We were in love for four years. But when I informed my family and we proposed to him, he refused. This was unacceptable.”

Three days before the incident, Gunjan’s family allegedly found the couple together in Katihar. They then allegedly kidnapped Avnish and forced him to marry Gunjan in a temple. A viral video captures the harrowing scene, where Avnish is held by several men while Gunjan, dressed in a bridal saree and sporting vermilion on her forehead, waits. Avnish looks visibly distraught as he is pressured to perform the marriage rituals under duress.

After the forced ceremony, Gunjan accompanied her family back to Avnish’s house in Rajaura, but a clash ensued. Avnish managed to escape and when Gunjan reached home, her family refused to accept her as part of their household.

Gunjan has since filed a police complaint seeking justice for the ordeal.

Avnish, however, denied the allegations of a romantic relationship with Gunjan. “I had no love for that girl,” he said. “She harassed me by calling and harassing me repeatedly. On the day of the incident, some men kidnapped me in a Scorpio vehicle while I was on my way to school. They beat me, forcibly applied vermilion on me and tried to perform rituals. I protested throughout.”

Avnish also filed a complaint accusing the perpetrators of kidnapping and physical assault.