A violent mob abducted a woman after she rejected the marriage proposal of a mob leader. The accused is still on the loose. The police claim that violence against women rejecting marriage proposals is increasing in India.
Terror spread in India after a viral video showed a violent mob armed with sticks and iron rods attacking vehicles and people before forcefully taking a woman away from her house in broad daylight.
The Telangana state police detained 31 people hours after the home invasion and abduction on December 9. However, the main culprit, believed to be the instigator of the mob attack, Kodudula Naveen Reddy, is still on the run.
According to the reports, Reddy is a tea baron accused of leading a violent mob attack to kidnap a dentist from her house hours before her engagement to another man.
Although the prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, has encouraged Indians to fight against misogyny, the crimes against women in India are steadily on the rise. Official data records show that 76,263 women were kidnapped in 2020, and 28,222 were taken away to "compel her for marriage."
Part of an increasing trend of "crimes of passion," the police have termed the incident as a case of "jilted lover syndrome." Such cases often lead to abductions, murders, acid attacks, and other forms of violence against women in India. A stalker and a gang of 15 men were arrested after kidnapping a woman at knifepoint in Tamil Nadu state for refusing his marriage proposal in August. Police rescued the woman hours after the abduction took place. On average, India reports a stalking case every 55 minutes.
#InternationalDay for Elimination of Violence against Women . We have witnessed a 15% increase in #CrimesAgainstWomen in 2021 compared to 2020 we stand in solidarity for a #SaferTogether #India #NariShakti #Zindabaad https://t.co/pTORttii5j
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The police at a press conference revealed that Reddy prearranged the kidnapping, which took place last week, and also attacked the woman when she was taken away as a hostage. "[The] victim was in shock and couldn't say anything," said senior police officer Sudheer Babu. The police also said that Reddy's vehicle, which was used to abduct the woman, was found abandoned outside the city.
Kidnapped woman rescued, 8 arrested: Telangana Police
Read @ANI Story | https://t.co/DM9rxhULni#Telanganapolice #Kidnapping #Arrested #Womankidnapped pic.twitter.com/sXj7CgDFvF— ANI Digital (@ani_digital) December 10, 2022
The dentist woman was rescued the same day she was kidnapped, and after that, a police complaint was registered against Reddy by the victim's parents. The parents' police statement says Reddy harassed and stalked their daughter for months.
Following the police report, Reddy set up a tea shop opposite her house to spy on her. Currently the director of a registered company called Mr. Tea Food and Beverages Private Limited, he also owns three other private companies. Reddy approached the dentist with a marriage proposal two months after he met her at a badminton school, which she refused.
Reddy claimed that he was already married to the woman, and the kidnapping was a plot to prevent her from getting engaged to another man, the police said to the media.
However, the dentist completely denied this claim and said that she was training at an Army dental school on the day Reddy claimed to marry her. She told the media gathered outside her house for information last weekend that she did not sign marriage papers.
The woman also said that while she was held as a hostage, Reddy grabbed her by her hair, assaulted her face several times, and blackmailed her that he would kill her parents if she didn't marry him. She and her family, who were attacked during the mob attack, asked the police for protection.
Mahesh Bhagwath, the police commissioner conducting the investigation, said they were collecting evidence, and the woman underwent a medical examination.
"We assure the citizens that all such anti-social elements, who breach the law and order, will be cracked down with stern legal action," Bhagwath told the media.
