The girl's family has filed a complaint of kidnapping and physical abuse, and the police are investigating accordingly.
What you should know
A 14-year-old girl from Bannigadhi Jayagarh Rural Municipality has been found to have been 'kidnapped' in a dramatic manner by a couple with the intention of marrying her.
On Thursday afternoon, Santosh Aidy, 35, of Ramaroshan Rural Municipality-7, Sutar, and his 40-year-old wife Jharana Saund lured the girl, who was returning home from school, to a distance and put her in the middle of their motorcycle. From there, they went to Dipayal in Doti on the motorcycle.
Jharana is also an Anami working at Bayalpata Hospital . They bought clothes for the girl in Dipayal and had lunch. Santosh took the girl to Kailali, while Jharana stayed in Dipayal that night .
The girl's family started searching after she did not return home until late. Finally, the police discovered that the Saund couple had taken the girl from Jayagarh Bazaar in her school uniform . After the police arrested Jharana from Dipayal on Friday morning, it was revealed that the husband and wife had planned to kidnap the girl.
According to Omprakash Khanal, Chief of the District Police Office, Achham, the Saund couple has a daughter. ‘Initial investigation shows that the husband and wife kidnapped the girl with the intention of planning a marriage after the child was not born,’ he said, ‘They have a daughter. It seems that they lured the girl, who is two years younger than their daughter, to Kailali.’
After the wife was arrested, the Achham police, in coordination with the Sudurpaschim Province Police, found the girl in Kailali at 8 am on Sunday. Fearing that she would be arrested, the man had left the girl in a shop in Kailali and fled. Santosh, who had absconded, was arrested from Kailali on Sunday afternoon.
According to the police, the girl was seen by Jharana while she was going to Bayalpata Hospital for treatment.
Since her maternal village also falls in Bannigadhi Jayagarh Rural Municipality, she had been contacting the girl for some time through various connections.
‘It seems that the woman met the girl first. After taking her photo and showing it to her husband, it seems that she had planned to abduct her some time ago,’ said Police Chief DSP Khanal. The girl’s father is in India. He said that he planned to take her away through a middleman when only her mother and grandmother were at home. ‘Why did a woman herself go ahead to arrange another marriage for her husband? This is also being investigated. Initial statements have revealed that she has endured domestic violence, social pressure and mental torture due to not having a son,’ he said.
According to him, the girl’s family has registered a complaint in a case of physical kidnapping and kidnapping and the police are investigating accordingly.
