The Bihar police has announced a reward of Rs 25,000 for the arrest of Sultan Mian, who reportedly forced a woman named Kanchan Mishra into marrying him, provoking controversy.

The National Commission for Women is probing the 'forcible' marriage of Mishra, who was married twice before. NCW Chairperson Purnima Advani had asked the state police on Tuesday to track down and produce Mishra before the Commission within 10 days.

Bihar Director General of Police R R Prasad told rediff.com that he had directed Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Sunil Kumar to expedite Sultan Mian's arrest.

Police records say Sultan Mian, a resident of Mainpura under the Patliputra police station, is wanted in several cases of kidnapping, extortion and murder. He has been marked as an absconder from the law for several months.

Mian told rediff.com over the telephone from his hideout two days ago that he would send legal documents of his marriage to the NCW.

Mian, a Muslim, claimed he had not forced Mishra, a Hindu, to change her religion after marriage, contending that their relationship is based on "love and nothing else."

"I have legal proof of my marriage with her in court; there is nothing like a forcible marriage," he emphasised, claiming he had married Mishra with her consent.

The police have no information yet about Mian's whereabouts. One police source said, "He is probably hiding in Siwan district," adding that Mian had married Mishra in a Siwan district court last month, instead of a Patna mosque as reported earlier.

Local newspapers say Mian is an associate of Mohammad Shahabuddin, the highly controversial Rashtriya Janata Dal member of the Lok Sabha from Siwan.