Varsha Sahu's "Revolver Rani" in UP's Bundelkhand stops wedding, kidnaps groom at gunpoint.
A young woman who kidnapped a groom at gunpoint from his wedding on Tuesday night - announcing, Bollywood-style, that she would not allow her man to marry someone else - has been arrested by the police in Uttar Pradesh's Bundelkhand. She claims the groom, Ashok Yadav, went with her willingly.
Varsha Sahu's "Revolver Rani" act has made waves and even impressed some in the police force, but she has disowned the most dramatic part of her wedding stunner.
"I did not go there with a pistol... it is all a lie," said the 25-year-old, sitting in the police station in a grey kurta-salwar.
On Tuesday night, by all witness accounts, she pulled up in an SUV to the wedding venue and walked in with two men. Then she held a revolver to the groom's head and said: "This man loves me, he is betraying me by marrying someone else. I will not allow this to happen."
The three led away the groom from the mandap or altar and drove off with their hostage, leaving a weeping bride and stunned guests in their wake. The bride's family later went to the police to report the kidnapping.
Ashok Yadav is still missing, say the police.
Varsha and Ashok reportedly met a few years ago at work and fell in love. Some allege they are secretly married. But he was allegedly being forced by his family to marry someone else.
Varsha, who lives with her mother and sister, has told the police that the groom "knocked on her car and came willingly" that night.
"He was not happy with the marriage. He was not ready to marry that girl. The girl's family knew he was in love with someone else but said she would handle the situation," she said.
The police confirmed a part of the story. "She has said they were lovers and knew each other for eight years. The boy was not happy with the marriage he was getting into," said RK Mishra, a police officer in Banda, where the incident took place.