Seven arrested for abducting couple over love marriage
Police said the family of 20-year-old Shital Maliwad disapproved of her marriage to 23-year-old Mahesh Meda.
The couple had tied the knot on Dec 16, 2024, at Debhari Rupamani temple in Mahisagar district after falling in love.
They initially lived in Meda's native village, but the Maliwad family reluctantly accepted the marriage following a compromise between the two families.
However, tension continued to simmer. A month ago, the Meda family shifted to Ravi Park Society in Kapodra, Surat.
On Tuesday morning, Shital's father, Chirag Maliwad, along with relatives and friends – identified as Surpal Khat, Mahir Deewan, Sajjad Shaikh, Dashrath Chamtha, Siraj Kadiya and Parvat Thakarda alias Mansi Neha De – allegedly stormed the society and abducted the couple.
Mahesh's father immediately alerted the police. Acting swiftly, a team tracked the accused and rescued the couple from the Vejalpur toll plaza in Panchmahal before they could reach their village.
Deputy commissioner of police (Zone-1) Alok Kumar told TOI, "The girl was found to be eight months pregnant when rescued. Her father was distressed by taunts from the community about the marriage. Even though he had accepted it formally, the pregnancy aggravated his embarrassment, leading him to plot the abduction in the hope that his daughter would divorce her husband.
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We are also probing whether there were other motives behind the crime.
"
All seven have been booked for abduction and criminal conspiracy.
Eunuch brought from Ahmedabad for reconnaissance
Of the seven accused, one – Mansi Neha De – is a eunuch from Ahmedabad. According to police, Mansi was specially called for the operation as she was unknown to the couple. "Mansi's job was to locate the house where Shital lived. She knocked on the door and carried out reconnaissance, which enabled the others to abduct the couple," DCP Kumar added.
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