Howrah: A 17-year-old Class 11 student in West Bengal’s Howrah district has allegedly been abducted following a rejected forced marriage proposal, leaving her family desperate for answers. Despite lodging a formal police complaint regarding the incident, the victim’s mother accuses local authorities of failing to take concrete action against the perpetrators, identified by the family as Raja and Dakuwa.
According to Gulshan Begum, the girl's mother, the abduction was the culmination of sustained pressure and explicit threats. The family had recently refused a marriage proposal from a suitor in Sultanpur, citing the girl's minor status and her desire to continue her education. Speaking to Maktoob, Begum alleged that the rejection was met with intimidation. "The boy and his uncle told us clearly: if you don’t agree to the marriage, we will take your daughter away," she said, adding that the family did not consider the boy suitable.
The threats allegedly materialized when the girl was forcibly taken, and she has not been seen since. A distraught Begum described the administration as "sitting silently" while the family runs from pillar to post for help. She further claimed that even after filing the First Information Report (FIR) on January 22, the accused and their associates have continued to harass the family, pressuring them to withdraw the complaint. "We are poor people crying day and night for our child," she said. "We are scared, but how can a mother stay silent when her daughter is missing?"
The Jagacha Police Station has registered an FIR under Sections 137(20) and 140(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, covering charges of kidnapping and abduction. A police inspector involved in the case stated that investigators are facing challenges as both the girl and the suspect are currently untraceable. "We are continuously trying to track the mobile number of the boy, but it is switched off. As soon as we get a lead, we will nab him and proceed with the investigation," the official said.
(Inputs from IANS)