An upset bride stormed off and cancelled her wedding after the groom, visibly drunk, garlanded the wrong person – thrice.
The wedding in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh turned into a spectacle after the groom mistakenly put the ceremonial garland around the bride’s best friend before proceeding to garland a male friend and an elderly guest.
What followed was a slap, a brawl, an abrupt end to the marriage, and the groom’s eventual arrest.
Ravindra Kumar, 26, had arrived late to his wedding at Naughwa Bhagwantpur village in Bareilly district on Saturday evening. He had reportedly been drinking with his friends before the ceremony. As the Hindu garland-exchange ritual began, Mr Kumar mistakenly placed the wreath around the bride’s best friend instead of her.
Realising his mistake, Mr Kumar took the garland off her, only to put it on a male friend and then an elderly guest, leaving the attendees in stunned silence.
Enraged by the spectacle, the bride, Radha Devi, 21, slapped Mr Kumar and walked off and cancelled the wedding. This prompted a brawl between the two families, with chairs hurled around before police intervened.
The bride’s family later filed a police complaint, alleging that Mr Kumar’s family had demanded additional dowry despite already taking Rs450,000 (£4000).
Ms Devi’s brother, Omkar Verma, said the groom’s family could have orchestrated the drama to humiliate them. He also alleged that Mr Kumar had misrepresented his profession, claiming to be a farmer when he was actually a truck driver, The Times of India reported.
By 4am, Mr Kumar and his friends were in police custody.
A medical test confirmed that he was intoxicated, and a case was registered against him under India’s stringent anti-dowry law.
“The groom was intoxicated and misbehaved. His medical examination confirmed he was drunk,” local police officer Harsh Modi, overseeing the case, said.
Despite his family’s pleas to salvage the marriage, Ms Devi refused to reconsider.
Police also took preventive action against the groom’s family and arrested one individual accused of supplying illicit liquor at the wedding.
“In the referenced case, on the basis of the complaint received at the police station Kyoldia, Bareilly, a case has been registered under relevant sections and preventive action has been taken against the accused in view of peace and law and order," Bareilly police said in a statement on X.