A man who kidnapped a medical student as part of a bizarre tradition in which she would then be forced to marry him has been jailed for 23 years after cops that freed her left her in a room to discuss a settlement with her kidnapper.
The kidnapping was an incident of ‘ala kachuu’, a local tradition in Kyrgyzstan where men kidnap young women and then force them to marry their kidnapper. According to reports, 20 percent of marriages in the country come after young women are kidnapped and forced to get married.
The tragedy happened in August this year, when 30-year-old bus driver Mars Bodoshev kidnapped Burulay Turdalieva, 19, from her hometown of Bishkek, the capital city of Kyrgyzstan in the northern part of the country.
Burulay Turdalieva reportedly dreamed of being a doctor. She studied in a local medical college and worked as a seamstress to pay her way through university.
Bodoshev and his friend Akmat Seitov grabbed Burulay not far from her house when she was on her way to a shop and forced her into their car before driving away.
Some witnesses of the incident rushed to Burulay’s house and alarmed her relatives who called the police.
The kidnappers’ car was stopped by the police one and a half hours later near the village of Sosnovka 71 kilometres (44 miles) from Bishkek.
The kidnappers and the victim were then taken to the Jayyl District Police Department.
Burulay called her relatives, saying that she was okay and they said they were on their way to take her home.
But the police officers then left the victim alone with Bodoshev in a room so they “could reach an agreement” about the matter.
According to the investigation, Bodoshev then began insisting on their marriage.
Burulay explained that she was in love with a young man named Nurlan and was going to marry him in five days.
On hearing this, Bodoshev became enraged and attacked Burulay with a knife, stabbing her in the heart and causing her instant death.
The police officers who decided to leave the victim with her kidnapper alone have reportedly been fired along with their superiors.
She was buried that day when her wedding was supposed to take place.
Burulay’s sister Mirgul Turdalieva said: “When we came to the police department we were told that Bodoshev stabbed her to death.
“I washed her body when we were preparing her for burial. I saw four knife wounds. One in her back, one in her neck and two in her chest. Bodoshev also cut ‘N+B’ into her body with his knife. These are the first letters of her fiance’s name and hers.”
After killing Burulay, Bodoshev tried to take his own life and stabbed himself with the knife. He was rushed to hospital where the doctors managed to save his life.
The prosecutor asked for a life-sentence for Bodoshev but the court sentenced him to 23 years in prison. His accomplice Akmat Seitov was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Story By: Roksana Panashchuk, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency: Central European News
