Calcutta, May 7: Calcutta High Court today granted bail to Riz Azbul Dafadar, 19, who had been arrested on charges of abducting a Hindu girl and marrying her forcibly.

Justices S.P. Talukdar and P.K. Deb said the documents submitted before them suggested both were adults and the girl had converted to Islam be-fore marriage. “So, the court can’t ask the administration to keep them behind bars.”

Riz, a resident of Ausgram in Burdwan, was friends with a girl of the same age, Papiya Mondal, since childhood. On February 16, they left home to get married and Papiya’s father Atul, a local Trinamul Congress leader, lodged the complaint alleging kidnap.

Riz and Papiya were arrested. The girl was sent home but Riz has been in jail since.

In 2007, Rizwanur Rahman, fondly called Riz, had been driven to suicide after his businessman father-in-law Ashok Todi asked police to ensure his daughter returned home.