3 min readPuneUpdated: Feb 20, 2026 08:51 PM IST
A 21-year-old woman, who was alleged to be kidnapped from Bhigwan days before her wedding, on Friday recorded her statement before a Baramati court where she allegedly stated she willingly went with one of the men who was allegedly named in the FIR as one of the kidnappers.
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As per a first information report (FIR) lodged by the woman’s mother, the woman was allegedly kidnapped by two men from a different community from a market in Bhigwan town in Indapur taluka of Pune district, around 3.40 pm on Tuesday.
As stated in the FIR, before kidnapping the woman, the two accused men allegedly threw chilli powder at her mother and brother and thrashed them with a wooden stick. It was also alleged that the two men, who were residents of the woman’s neighbourhood, had robbed gold ornaments from her mother during the alleged kidnapping.
On Friday, the woman and the two accused, including the man she allegedly willingly went with, appeared at Baramati City police station around 1.30 am where their statement was recorded. The woman’s statement was also recorded before the Baramati court where she maintained she was not kidnapped, the police said.
On Wednesday, a video had surfaced in which the woman was seen with the man accused of abducting her. The woman can be heard saying she willingly went with the man because they had been in love for the past nine years. The woman denied her mother and brother were attacked by the suspects.
Sandeep Singh Gill, Superintendent of Pune Rural Police, told media persons that the woman has in her statement maintained she was not kidnapped and that she willingly went with the accused man.
Gill said the woman’s “version” was different from what her brother and mother stated while lodging the FIR.
“Statement of the woman differs from the content in the FIR. We are investigating the case further,” said Gill.
In her statement before the court, the woman mentioned that the FIR lodged by her mother was false. She stated she was in love with the man (accused of kidnapping her) and did not want to marry anyone else. Hence, she willingly went with him, she stated. The woman also stated that she had informed her family about their relationship, police said.
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The situation became tense in Bhigwan as Hindutva groups called for a “bandh” Wednesday to condemn the alleged kidnapping incident.
On Thursday, a protest was held under the banner of “Hindu Akrosh Morcha” in the presence of BJP MLA Gopichan Padalkar and NCP MLA Sangram Jagtap, demanding the arrest of the alleged kidnappers. BJP MLA Padalkar claimed the accused forced the woman to release the video in which she said that she was not kidnapped.
