India: Hyderabad woman kidnaps TV anchor in desperate attempt to marry him; arrested

In a desperate attempt to marry a TV presenter, a woman from India’s Hyderabad city tried to abduct him after allegedly stalking him for days. The 31-year-old woman named Bhogireddy Trishna was apprehended by the police on Friday.

According to police, Trishna operatesa digital marketing business in Hyderabad and came across a profile on a matrimony site. Later, she came to know that it was rather a fake profile that was created using the photograph of TV anchor and video jockey Pranav Sistla. Trishna contactedthe real Pranav and started a saga of obsession with him, which led to the abduction of the TV anchor.

Hyderabad shocker: Stalking, kidnapping in the name of marriage

Two years ago, Trishna came across a profile on a matrimony website that had Pranav’s photos. She started chatting with him, but laterrealisedthat it was not a genuine account.

She then reached out to the real VJ Pranavvia an instant messaging app and told him about the incident. He told her it was a fake account that someone had created using his photo and that he had lodged a police complaint in the matter.

She, however, continued messaging him, which led him to block her number, police said. The story could have ended here if the woman had understood her boundaries and the meaning of consent, but she was allegedly a bit over determined to marry the video jockey.

According to the police, she planned to fulfil her ambitions by kidnapping him by hiring four men for the job. Additionally, she attached an AirTag to Pranav’s car to track his whereabouts continuously.

On February 11, the four hired men kidnapped the victim and took him to the woman's office where theythrashed him badly, police said.

Fearing for his life, the TV anchor agreed to respond to the woman’s calls and only then was he let off, the police further said.

Once freed, Pranav went straight to the Uppal police station and filed a complain.

The case was registered under 363 (kidnapping), 341 (wrongful restraint), 342 (wrongful confinement), and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The policearrested the accused woman and the four men she had hired to carry out the abduction. Further investigation is underway.

(With inputs from agencies)