Bengaluru: A speeding vehicle crashed into more than 20 vehicles, injuring six people in Bengaluru on Wednesday night, September 16, while attempting to abduct a 21-year-old girl from Rajasthan who married a man from another caste against her family’s wishes.
Police have arrested the accused, 21-year-old Rakesh, 25-year-old Karan and 18-year-old Ayas, while the driver, Saddam, is absconding. Authorities suspect her paternal aunt asked the accused to abduct the woman, identified as Pooja, as she was unable to accept the marriage.
Originally from Rajasthan‘s Melwas village, the couple had married nearly eight to nine months ago and shifted to Bengaluru.
Car chase results in major collision
The accused assaulted Pooja’s husband, Omprakash, at their residence in Agrahara Dasarahalli before forcing her into a vehicle, police said. Two residents who saw the men taking Pooja in the car followed them for six to seven kilometres before getting assistance from others near Hoshahalli in Vijaynagar.
“They had taken a woman from a building in Agrahara Dasarahalli. She was screaming loudly. When we went to find out what was happening, they drove away at high speed. We followed them in four or five vehicles. They had already hit several vehicles. Since the woman was shouting, we stopped the car. It could have been a love marriage,” residents Deepak and Kiran said.
The accused were reportedly driving recklessly through Govindarajanagar and Vijaynagar and eventually collided with several vehicles. Six people sustained injuries, including a nine-year-old, and more than 20 vehicles were damaged.
The injured were identified as Prithviraj (12), Yashika (9), Amul (35), Mani (64), Jayalakshmi (57) and Santosh (33), they said.
Among them, Jayalakshmi, who sustained a head injury, is presently admitted to the ICU and undergoing treatment, police said.
Accused thrashed
Following the crash, locals thrashed the accused men, suspecting they abducted Pooja. The woman later intervened and told the crowd that they were her family members.
Saddam, who was driving the car, is presently absconding, while the remaining accused, who are from Rajasthan, have been taken into custody in connection with the incident, police said.
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