MEERUT: It was meant to be a picture-perfect wedding — a constable set to marry a fellow constable in a match arranged by their families. Invitations had gone out, preparations were complete, and the stage was set for the ceremony.Then, on Saturday, a night before the wedding, the 25-year-old bride-to-be, Sandhya Bhardwaj, vanished.Bhardwaj, who hailed from Akbarpur Sadat village in Meerut’s Bahsuma region, walked out of her home and disappeared. Unaware of her whereabouts, her father, Subhash Sharma, approached police on Sunday, alleging that Ankit Chauhan, 28, a history-sheeter facing nine criminal cases, including robbery and murder, had abducted his daughter. He said she had taken 20 days’ leave for her wedding to Atul Sharma, a constable from Muzaffarnagar, and had returned home from her posting at the cyber police station in Aligarh.“On Feb 5, Chauhan threatened the groom over the phone, saying he would kill him if he married my daughter. On Saturday night, he abducted her,” Sharma alleged in his complaint. An FIR was subsequently registered against Chauhan under BNS sections 87 (kidnapping) and 351(2) (criminal intimidation).Police traced Bhardwaj within eight hours to Buxar in Meerut. When questioned, however, the case took a dramatic turn. She denied being abducted and told police she had left of her own accord. Investigators said Bhardwaj had known Chauhan for the past few years. “She met him during visits to her aunt’s house in Dhikoli village, from where Chauhan hails,” said Mawana circle officer (CO) Pankaj Lavania.Chauhan’s record, police said, includes several cases of loot and murder. Last May, he was arrested following a police encounter in connection with a liquor shop robbery and was recently released on bail.As the stunned groom called off the wedding, the bride remained firm, asserting her right to choose, even if her choice stood in stark contrast to the uniform she wears. SP (rural) Abhijeet Kumar said she would soon be produced before a court.