22-year-old man held for eloping with minor girl

A couple who had eloped last week was finally traced on Saturday, police said. KAPIL DATTA reports.

A couple who had eloped last week was finally traced on Saturday, police said. Babloo Jatav (22), a resident of Badalpur village, was arrested under charges of kidnapping a minor girl. While the girl belongs to an upper caste family, the accused is a Scheduled Caste, police added.

HT Image

The girl was sent for medical examination, police said, adding that she is staying with a female constable at present. Her mother and aunt are with her. The girl reportedly refused to return home to her parents. Babloo’s father, Prakash Jatav, claimed that the girl had gone with his son on her own. “What is the fault of my son? Why has he been booked for kidnapping?”

Meanwhile, the situation at the village continued to remain tense for the past one week, forcing the district magistrate to deploy a team of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) to avert any untoward incident. Apprehending a threat to their lives, Babloo’s family has been provided police protection.

Deputy superintendent of police Ambesh Tyagi said, “On December 12, Brij Lal, a resident of Duryai village, had lodged a case of kidnapping at the Badalpur police station, alleging that his 17-year-old daughter has been enticed by Babloo, who was working as a mason at their house, to elope with him. Lal also alleged that Babloo had asked the girl to bring money and she had taken away R70,000.”

Tyagi added, “Prakash Jatav has alleged that he has been receiving threats from the girl’s family and the village panchayat had ordered the killing of the couple. Panchayat members, however, have denied issuing any such order.