Bhopal:
What was expected to be a day of celebration turned into a crime drama in Bhopal when police stormed a wedding ceremony and arrested the groom, a gangster, from the mandap. Hours later, the bride arrived at the Koh-e-Fiza police station with mehndi still dark on her hands and haldi on her face, making a desperate plea that stunned everyone present.
“Sahab, my life will be destroyed. What’s my fault? I didn’t know about the crimes he committed. Guests are waiting at home. Haldi and other rituals have been done,” the bride, Seema, cried before police officers.
Fighting back tears, she begged the police to release her fiance, Akash, also known as Bhura, for just two hours so that the wedding rituals could be completed. When officers refused, she made a startling request: if his release was impossible, the wedding vows should at least be performed inside police custody.
But the police did not relent.
The dramatic sequence unfolded on Wednesday afternoon when a police team reached the wedding venue and took Akash Neelkanth, the alleged leader of an “illegal gang” into custody.
Guests watched in disbelief as the groom was escorted away by officers before the sacred vows could be taken. Along with Akash, police arrested his associates Rajamji Thakur, Abhishek Upadhyay, Abhishek Meena, Neeraj Khange, and Amit Oswal. All the accused were produced before a court and sent to police remand.
The ‘Illegal Gang’
Investigators said the gang, known locally as the “illegal gang”, has been active in Bhopal since 2018. According to police sources, the group comprised more than 50 youths from the Vajpayee Nagar area, many of whom have tattooed the word “illegal” on their necks as a mark of loyalty and identity.
The gang’s alleged leader, Akash alias Bhura, is no ordinary criminal. Police records show 31 cases registered against him, including serious charges like murder.
In Bhopal, BJP Yuva Morcha Mandal Vice President Surendra Kushwah was murdered on March 18, 2024. Akash was the main accused in the murder case. In this connection, he had spent nearly 18 months in jail before being released on bail about four months ago.
Police say the arrests stem from a kidnapping case. The gang allegedly kidnapped a 26-year-old priest, locked him inside a flat in the Eidgah Hills area and brutally assaulted him, while demanding Rs 8 lakh in ransom. The victim was threatened with being falsely implicated in a rape case if he failed to pay. Investigators say the gang forced the priest’s brother to transfer 50,000 online while pressuring the family to arrange the remaining Rs 7.5 lakh in installments.
The entire operation came to light when the priest managed to escape and reached the Koh-e-Fiza police station on March 11, where he filed an FIR. Acting swiftly on the complaint, police tracked the accused and launched raids, ending in the dramatic arrest of the gangster right from his wedding ceremony.
Police said Seema and Akash had been in a relationship for nearly six years. Seema lives in the same locality and had been preparing for the wedding for weeks.
