MEERUT, Feb. 8 -- A 25-year-old woman constable was allegedly kidnapped a day before her wedding in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut district, triggering panic in both families and prompting a large-scale police search operation. While the constable's family has accused a criminal of abducting her, police claim preliminary evidence suggests that she may have gone out of her own free will.

The incident occurred in the constable's native Akbarpur Sadan village under Bahsuma police station area late on Saturday night. Currently posted at the cybercrime police station in Aligarh, she was scheduled to get married on Sunday (February 8).

In his complaint to the police, the constable's father alleged that a history-sheeter Ankit Thakur of Dhikoli villag...