High drama unfolded outside the Baramati District Court in Pune on Friday, February 20 as the family of a woman from Bhigwan levelled serious allegations against Daund MLA Rahul Kul, according to the news agency IANS. The victim’s relatives staged a protest as police escorted the girl to court to record her statement, demanding that she be handed over to their custody and calling for a wider investigation into the case.
Heavy police reinforcement was deployed at the court premises to prevent clashes as tensions escalated between protesters and authorities. The family of the woman, who allegedly field complaint of her abduction in the Bhigwan area, publicly accused Rahul Kul, the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Daund, of being involved in the conspiracy.
What Exactly Happened in the Bhigwan Case?
The case of a young woman allegedly being abducted after chilli powder was thrown into the eyes of her mother and brother has turned out to be a hoax. The incident from Bhigwan in Indapur taluka took a different turn after the woman appeared at the Baramati City Police Station and dismissed the kidnapping charges in an affidavit.
The woman had eloped with her boyfriend on February 17. On February 18, she prepared an affidavit stating that her family was forcing her into a marriage against her wishes. She said she had been in a relationship with Zaheer Harun Sheikh for a year. In the affidavit, the woman said her family opposed her relationship with Zaheer and had arranged her marriage to a close relative, scheduled for February 22. She claimed she had informed her mother and brothers that she did not want the marriage.
Also Read | Bhigwan Case: Woman Refutes Kidnapping Claim, Says She Went With Man by Choice.
She told police that on February 17, she called Zaheer from her brother’s phone and informed him that she would be taken to Bhigwan market for wedding shopping. She asked him to wait behind Anand Hotel near the rest house. Zaheer arrived with a tempo around 2 pm.
“I got into the tempo without my mother and brother noticing. After that, I called my brother from Zaheer’s phone and told him I was going with Zaheer. I have been in a relationship with him for a year and had already hinted about it,” she said in her statement to Baramati City Police.
She added that the next morning, while leaving for Daund, she came to know that her family had filed a kidnapping complaint. “The claim that Zaheer and his brother Ayan abducted me by throwing chilli powder in my mother’s and child’s eyes, using sticks, and snatching jewellery is false,” the woman told police.