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Bride’s kin say ‘no’ to wedding after brother substituted for physically challenged groom
Two brothers of the woman allegedly held captive for hours and beaten up by the groom’s kin when they refused to go ahead with the ‘tilak’ ceremony, say police
LUCKNOW A pre-wedding ceremony was called off in a Rae Bareli village around a week ago after the bride refused to marry the groom’s brother who was allegedly substituted for the physically challenged original groom. Two brothers of the bride were allegedly beaten up and held captive for hours by the groom’s kin when they refused to go ahead with the ‘tilak’ ceremony, said police.
The woman’s elder brother, Rajan Tiwari, lodged a complaint with Jagatpur police station, accusing the groom, his brother and father of accepting ₹50,000 cash and other items worth ₹50,000 while fixing the marriage and snatching ₹2 lakh when further marriage proceedings were stopped.
The complainant said he and his younger brother Rajesh Tiwari, who are daily wagers, had saved money for their sister’s marriage and fixed it with one Janardan Prasad Tiwari’s son Dheeraj Trivedi. He said Janardan introduced his other son, Purnendu Tiwari as Dheeraj, who is physically challenged.
Arun Kumar, supervising officer of Jagatpur police station, said a dispute was reported during the ‘tilak’ ceremony in Sarai Baksh village on April 18 and the police received a complaint in this regard. “As it was a matrimonial issue, efforts are on to settle the issue between the two sides amicably. An FIR will be registered after cross checking the facts mentioned in the complaint. The accused have been called for their version,” he said.
“We fixed our sister’s marriage and went ahead with ‘Bariksha’ (pre-wedding ceremony symbolising acceptance of marriage from both sides) by giving ₹50,000, fruits, sweets and ornaments worth ₹50,000. We promised to give ₹2 lakh during ‘tilak’ ceremony, but the person who reached for the ceremony was not the groom,” said the complainant.
“When we asked about the ‘changed groom’, they felt offended and held us captive for several hours and beat us up. We were rescued when police reached the spot after my brother dialed 112 for help,” he added.
Rajan Tiwari said the groom’s side demanded ₹2 lakh as compensation for cancelling the marriage, claiming they spent the amount on the ‘tilak’ ceremony. “They also snatched the bag containing ₹2 lakh, which we brought to hand them over while doing Bariksha,” he alleged. The complainant said neither the police registered any FIR, nor was the money returned.
