A groom in Chandauli in Uttar Pradesh abruptly called off his wedding due to an alleged delay in serving food, leaving the bride and her family at the venue to tie the knot with his cousin later that day.
The bride and her family then approached the police demanding justice, and also alleged that they had given Rs 1.5 lakh to the groom's family hours before the ceremony was to take place.
Speaking to the media, the bride said that her marriage was arranged with Mehtab seven months ago. On December 22, when the wedding procession arrived at her home in Hamidpur village, Mehtab and his relatives were given a warm welcome by her family.
“I was ready from the morning. The groom and his family arrived, ate and then abused my parents before leaving the spot. Later, I approached the police for justice,” she said.
The bride said that when the wedding guests sat down to eat, there was a slight delay in serving food to Mehtab. He became angry after his friends teased and ridiculed him, and he and his family then allegedly abused the bride's family and relatives, leading to a fight.
The village elders tried to intervene to resolve the issue, but Mehtab refused to tie the knot and returned to his home.
While the bride's family struggled with the shock, Mehtab married one of his cousins later the same day.
Police complaint
When the bride and her parents heard about Mehtab's marriage, they visited the police post in Industrial Nagar on December 23 to file a complaint. Claiming that they did nothing, they later escalated the matter to the Superintendent of Police, Aditya Laghe.
In the complaint, the woman's mother said the family suffered a loss of Rs 7 lakh as they had paid for all the arrangements and catered to around 200 guests from the groom's side.
An amount of Rs 1.5 lakh was also handed over to the man's family hours before the wedding, she said in the complaint.
Sources said Mr Laghe had summoned both parties, who agreed to resolve the issue amicably.
“A written agreement was signed by both parties that an amount of Rs 1.61 lakh would be given to the woman's family,” said Circle Officer Rajesh Rai.
(With inputs from Santosh Jaiswal)