Ludhiana, April 23 -- A man was allegedly kidnapped and assaulted by a family of an 18-year-old girl for serving as a witness to the court marriage of the girl and his friend. The girl had eloped and married the man of her choice.

According to police, the witness, identified as Ram Dayal, 35, a street food vendor from Surjeet Singh Nagar in Sahnewal, was abducted around 9 pm on Monday and held captive until police rescued him around midnight from Pakhar Colony.

Following the incident, the Daba police registered a case against 12 accused and arrested seven of them. The arrested have been identified as Naresh Kumar, his brother Sandeep Kumar, Pushpa (mother of the girl) - all residents of Guru Ramdas Colony in Daba - and their relatives A...