INDORE: A woman rehearsing garba was abducted at a gunpoint in full public view in Mandsaur on Saturday night. Swift action by police led to her rescue from Shamgarh, around 80 km from Mandsaur.
The police said that the incident occurred at around 10 pm at Bhawsar Dharamshala in Khanpura, where women and girls were practising for the upcoming festival. Four men and two women arrived at the venue and forcibly caught hold of a woman participating in the practice and began dragging her away.
Panic spread among those present, and most people fled, except one young woman who tried to intervene. She was pushed aside and assaulted by the accused, one of whom was carrying a country-made pistol, the police said. The assailants then dragged the woman through nearby lanes and forced her into a vehicle.
Abducted woman's family was unhappy with her Locals immediately alerted the police, following which barricades were set up across the city. Four police teams from Kotwali police station were dispatched towards possible escape routes.
A team led by Kotwali station in-charge Pushpendra Singh Rathore, in coordination with Shamgarh police, managed to corner the accused and rescue the abducted woman near Shamgarh, around 80 km from Mandsaur.
Investigation revealed that the woman, a resident of Garoth police station area, had left her husband three months ago and was residing in Mandsaur with a man named Yash in a live-in relationship. Her family, unhappy with her decision, reached the garba venue on Saturday and abducted her. Police later confirmed that among those detained were her relatives.
The victim told the police that she had left her husband due to his alcoholism and violent behaviour and wanted to continue living with Yash, a decision her family strongly opposed.
SP Vinod Kumar Meena said that the abduction attempt was foiled through swift police action after information was received at Kotwali police station.
Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with
Happy Diwali wishes,
messages and
quotes !