A year ago, the woman eloped with the girl to neighbouring Gujarat and returned five months later.

A 19-year-old woman, who eloped with a 17-year-old girl from Madhya Pradesh's Alirajpur district a year ago, was arrested on Tuesday after the girl's father filed a case of kidnapping against the woman. The two said they have been in a same-sex relationship for over a year, which was unacceptable to the girl's family. Yet, they plan to marry each other.

"The two might be in same-sex relationship, but in accordance with law since the girl isn't an adult yet, hence acting on her family's complaint, a kidnapping case was registered against the elder girl," police said. The woman was arrested on Tuesday and will be presented before court on Wednesday morning, they said.

A year ago, the woman eloped with the girl to neighbouring Gujarat and returned five months later. The matter was subsequently raised before a panchayat by the girl's family. The woman's family was asked to pay a penalty of Rs 77,000, along with a goat. Both families belonged to the same tribe, Bheel.

Besides the money and the goat, the woman's family was told to give the assurance that their daughter will have no contact with the girl in future.

Two months after the matter was resolved before the panchayat, the couple again went missing. This time the girl's father filed a case against the woman at the local police station.

Despite the woman's arrest, the coupe on Tuesday said: "We love each other and will marry each other. We'll live and die together".