Hours After Wedding, Odisha Bride Fakes Own Kidnapping With Lover's Help

In a startling turn of events in Odisha's Subarnapur district, a newly married woman allegedly plotted her own "kidnapping" with the help of her lover, police said.

Haribandhu Patel alias Rinku, a resident of Kamakhyanagar in Bolangir district, had married Rashmi from Bandhpali in Boudh district on February 21. After the wedding, the couple was returning home when, near Nuabandha under the Tarbha police station limits in Subarnapur, a white Maruti car allegedly intercepted them.

It was initially claimed that the woman's former boyfriend, brandishing a firearm, forcibly took her away in the car, leaving the groom stranded and helpless.

NDTV had previously reported that the groom had approached Tarbha police station to lodge a complaint claiming his wife was kidnapped at gunpoint while they were returning home after their wedding.

Following the complaint, police launched a probe. During questioning and technical investigation, it emerged that the woman had allegedly coordinated the plan herself and was the mastermind behind the kidnapping plot.

Police also revealed that Rashmi had herself called her lover to plan the staged kidnapping.

Subarnapur Superintendent of Police confirmed that the woman and her lover had left together of their own accord and that no kidnapping had taken place.

Police said further legal action would be taken as per law.

With Inputs From Dev Kumar