Bhadrak man rescues wife before ‘forced marriage’ to another person 

In a dramatic incident, a man rescued his wife, who had left him the day after ‘Savitri Brata’, just before her family members could forcibly marry her off to another person. The incident, reported from Dhusuri area in Bhadrak district, has since been a matter of discussion in the locality. 

According to a source, Rahul Gochhayat of Dhusuri area and Harapriya Panda, a girl of a neighbouring village, had been in love. Harapriya belongs to upper-caste. However, six months ago, they had exchanged garlands. While Rahul’s family had accepted her as their daughter-in-law, the girl’s family had been against their marriage. 

The couple had even celebrated their first ‘Savitri Brata’ on May 30. The next day, Harapriya, who was pursuing her Plus III, had gone to her college to sit for the examination and didn’t return. 

Fearing his wife had been kidnapped, Rahul informed his family members and they lodged a complaint at Dhusuri police station. 

A video of Rahul crying and appealing his wife to come back to him had gone viral then. 

Harapriya had reportedly been kidnapped by her uncle. As they had been opposing her marriage with Rahul, they had found a groom for her and fixed Monday as their wedding day. 

As the marriage was progressing at a Jagannath temple at Balikhand, a location between Bhadrak and Balasore, Rahul’s wife managed to make a call to Rahul from another’s mobile phone. 

Later, Rahul and his family members reached the spot and rescued his wife. 

“On the examination day, when I went to her college to receive her, I saw someone waiting in a car forcibly take her into the vehicle and flee from the spot. She called me today, requesting for her rescue from her uncle and aunt,” said Rahul. 

Expressing her ordeal, Harapriya said, “After my examination, when I came out of my college, a person sitting in a car told me that my husband was waiting for me and he would take me to him. Then he took me. Today at the temple when I found things were going unbearable, I came out of the temple and made a call to him (her husband).”