Patna: Authorities in Bihar are flummoxed after a man lost his wife in a gamble for a bottle of liquor.

The saga came to light after the woman contacted the Women helpline over the weekend. She told the authorities how a man had been calling her on her cell phone claiming that he was her new husband. The victim is a resident of Bihta town in Patna district.

“She [the victim] told us how a local man had been calling her on her mobile [phone] for some time claiming to be her new husband and threatening her with dire consequences if she did not talk properly with him whenever he called her,” Women helpline project director Pramila Kumari told the local media on Monday.

She added that an investigation had been ordered into the case. She also sought legal action against the accused if the incident was found to be true.

As per the story told by the victim, the caller also informed her about how her husband lost her in a gamble for a bottle of liquor. According to her, her husband is a drunkard who always assaults her under the influence of alcohol.

Another case

The incident is a throwback to an earlier incident reported in October 2007 where a 25-year-old woman from Teldiha village under Shambhuganj police station in eastern Bihar’s Banka district was gambled away to a local villager Bambholi Yadav during the annual gambling fair. Subsequently, the victor hugged her in full public view before taking her to his house where she stayed for two days.

She was finally rescued and restored to her husband after two days following intervention by fellow villagers.

The woman who was an ace gambler had been winning handsome cash every year during the gambling fair but this time she ended up losing the principal amount of Rs7,000 (Dh434.6) after initially winning some cash. Eventually, she placed herself on the bet after losing all the cash and lost to the villager.