PATNA: A 22-year-old student was allegedly kidnapped and forced into marriage in Samastipur district, police said on Wednesday.The student, Nitish Kumar, alleged that his friends offered him a cold drink laced with sedatives while he was returning from a library on Feb 7. He claimed he was rendered unconscious, abducted, and later forced to marry a girl in a nearby village.
Nitish further alleged that he was held captive for two days and given sedatives to keep him subdued. During captivity, he managed to record a video statement that later went viral on social media.Police rescued him from the alleged captors on Tuesday. A case has been registered, and further investigation is underway.Nitish, a resident of Chakraj Ali village under Patori police station area, alleged that two acquaintances — Kundan Rajvanshi and Rahul — abducted him. According to his complaint, they mixed sedatives in his drink and he was forced to marry Lakshmi Kumari, daughter of Shankar Rai.A video of the wedding ceremony circulating on social media shows Nitish appearing disoriented and struggling to lift his hands during the garland exchange ritual. Another video purportedly shows him locked inside a room, pleading for help after being held captive for over 24 hours.Nitish, who was preparing for competitive examinations, was allegedly confined in a house located barely 4 km from his residence. He said he remained locked in a room for nearly two days after the marriage.After regaining consciousness, he began shouting. His friends later showed him videos of the wedding, which he forwarded to his parents.DSP (Patori) B K Medhavi said, “Nitish’s family members were searching for him. After seeing the video, they informed the police and lodged a kidnapping complaint at Patori police station on Tuesday.”Police subsequently conducted a raid in Chakraj Ali village, rescued Nitish, and handed him over to his family.“No arrests have been made so far as the victim’s statement is yet to be recorded. The bride’s family has claimed it was an arranged marriage. Villagers had earlier attempted to mediate between the two families. Further action will be taken after recording the victim’s statement,” said Anil Kumar, SHO of Shahpur Patori police station.