A wedding in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly district took an ugly turn after the groom showed up drunk and ended up garlanding the bride’s best friend.
Ms Radha Devi, the 21-year-old bride, slapped the groom, called off the wedding and left, reported NDTV.
But that was not the only drama that took place on Saturday.
It all started when the groom, Mr Ravindra Kumar, 26, arrived late to the venue with his baraat, or wedding procession.
When he arrived, he didn’t seem to be in a hurry, lingering with his friends and catching up over drinks, reported The Times of India.
The 500-plus guests at a house in Naughwa Bhagwantpur village in Bareilly stayed in their seats as the bride waited.
When the wedding formalities finally began, Mr Kumar turned to the wrong woman during the garland exchange. The bride’s best friend was standing a metre from the bride, and before anyone could intervene, he placed the ceremonial garland over the woman.
As confusion rippled through the crowd, he removed the garland and placed it around the neck of a male friend beside her.
Then, to perhaps maintain a certain symmetry, he garlanded an elderly guest as well.
The wedding guests remained quiet as the drama unfolded. They watched the action with curiosity.
But the bride did not stay silent. She slapped the groom and walked away.
Soon, a fight erupted between the two families with both sides throwing chairs at each other.
Police were eventually called in and took charge of the situation, sending the groom away from the scene along with his wedding procession.
It had taken months of preparation for the wedding.
The bride’s brother Omkar Verma said the family had spent more than Rs10 lakh ($15,000) on the whole affair.
He had his own theory on why things went wrong.
“They were unhappy with the dowry gifts. Maybe this was their way of humiliating us,” he told the Times of India.
“And then we find out that he isn’t even a farmer, as his family told us. He’s actually a truck driver.”
According to the police report made by the bride’s family, the groom’s family demanded additional dowry.
The bride’s father told NDTV that he had given Rs2.5 lakh during the pre-wedding rituals and another Rs2 lakh on the morning of the wedding. But those sums didn’t seem enough.
Another version of the story is that Mr Kumar wanted to marry another woman, and he misbehaved in an effort to get the wedding with Ms Devi cancelled.
At 4am the next day, Mr Kumar and some of his friends were arrested.
By noon, he apologised, and his family suggested the wedding should go on. But Ms Devi refused.
Police officer Harsh Modi, who is more used to break-ins and thefts, kept his summary brief: “The groom was intoxicated. He misbehaved. His medical examination confirmed he was drunk. He was booked under sections of the Dowry Act.”
Friends allegedly supplied illicit liquor to the groom. One man was arrested for selling the liquor.
