Balangir: In a twist to what began as a dramatic abduction, Odisha Police on Tuesday detained a newlywed bride and her former lover from a rented house in Sambalpur’s Professor Pada area, bringing the curtain down on an allegedly carefully orchestrated ‘triangle love story’.
According to police, both the bride and her lover, Sanjeeb Sahu alias Buthi, are being questioned at Tarabha police station. Preliminary investigation revealed that it was not a forcible kidnapping but a pre-planned conspiracy hatched by the bride herself, who allegedly contacted her former boyfriend and orchestrated the dramatic escape.
The incident occurred in the early hours of February 22, shortly after the wedding on the night of February 21.
The groom, a resident of Kamakshi Nagar in Balangir town, had travelled to Kantamal in Boudh district for his marriage with a local from Bandhpal village under Kantamal police station limits in Boudh district. The Vedic rituals were completed and the newlyweds, along with the wedding party, began their journey back towards the groom’s home. However, they were intercepted midway near Badabandha area. The bride’s former lover, a resident of Barachhapali village in Boudh district, along with associates, allegedly brandished a firearm, threatened the groom and others, pulled the bride into the car, and sped away.
The shocked groom immediately rushed to Tarva police station and lodged a written complaint.
Tarva Police registered a case, formed a special team, and launched a massive search operation, identifying Sanjeeb Sahu as the prime accused based on the groom’s statement and initial leads.
What investigators later uncovered, however, turned the case on its head. Police found that the “abduction” was a mutual plan. The bride had allegedly maintained her prior relationship with Sahu, contacted him to execute the escape, and the couple had been living together in a rented accommodation in Sambalpur’s Professor Pada locality since fleeing.
Tarva Police raided the hideout this morning and detained the duo. Further interrogation is underway to ascertain the full conspiracy and involvement of others in the incident.
