PATNA: COVID-19 did not deter hundreds of couples from eloping in the last three months of lockdown in Bihar.
Meanwhile, the Bihar police also recorded hundreds of cases of alleged kidnappings for marriage purposes between the same period this year (April - June).
Mohan Kumar (name changed), 22, a grad student from Muzaffarpur district fled from his home along with his girlfriend Rinku (name changed) one early morning in April and reached his friend's house in Patna.
Shweta Kumari, 22, taking advantage of the lockdown fled her home in June with her boyfriend and married him after arriving in Delhi on a special train.
These lovebirds are not alone, figures on the official website of Bihar police show that up to 398 men and women eloped between April and June from different parts of Bihar.
Before April, 951 cases of eloping were registered in different police stations in Bihar this year from January to March.
As the lockdown intensified, in April, 63 cases were reported to different police stations followed by 103 in May and 232 in June.
Meanwhile, Bihar police also registered 524 cases of alleged kidnapping for marriages between the lockdown period of April and June.
Besides these three months, 910 cases of alleged kidnapping for marriages were reported to different police stations between January and March as well.
In 2019, the state police had registered 1,178 cases of eloping from homes in Bihar during the same period of April, May, and June.
And as per the official figures, 1,353 cases of alleged kidnapping for marriages were registered in April, May and June of 2019.