Attempt to abduct Padma Shri awardee Phoolbasan Bai Yadav foiled in Chhattisgarh

Three persons, including two women, were detained as an alleged abduction attempt against Padma Shri recipient social worker Phoolbasan Bai Yadav was foiled in Chhattisgarh’s Rajnandgaon district on Tuesday, May 5.

Yadav was honoured with the Padma Shri in 2012 for her work in the SHG movement.

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According to PTI, Khushbu Sahu, a native of Bemetara, met Yadav at her Sukuldaihan village at around 10.30 a.m. She =allegedly told Yadav that a differently-abled woman was seated in a car outside and she wanted to take a selfie with her.

As Yadav walked out and sat in the car, it sped away. Soon after, the accused are said to have tied her hands and gagged her with a cloth.

What happened next was something that the kidnappers never imagined. Near the Chikhli police outpost on Rajnandgaon-Khairagarh road, a traffic police team stopped the vehicle to conduct a routine check.

On being questioned, the accused informed the police officials that the woman with her hands tied and and mouth gagged was an epilepsy patient. However, one of them soon recognised Yadav and they managed to rescue her.

Later on, the police took the three accused – Sahu, another woman and the male car driver – to the Sukuldaihan police outpost and questioned them, Rajnandgaon City Superintendent of Police Alexander Kiro said.

In the preliminary investigation, it came out that Sahu is the main accused in the matter and she was associated with a self-help group. She was reportedly in touch with Yadav for the past four months.

The senior official informed that police is suspecting that SHGs in Bemetara region were being mobilised in the name of employment training, while money was being collected illegally.

As of now, the motive behind the abduction is known known and will be clear after further investigation in the matter.

Yadav began forming SHGs in 2001 and encouraged women in the region to adopt the habit of saving small amounts as per their capability. Currently, her network boasts about two lakh women, who are engaged in social service and empowerment initiatives. Besides this, they also work in other activities like water and environmental conservation and organic farming.