By Crazy Monday

A bride eloped with her boyfriend, leaving the groom waiting at the wedding reception in India last week. The woman, 22, returned in the evening, married to the man she loved.

The groom, disheartened at first, had another surprise waiting for him, as the bride’s family did not send him back empty-handed. They convinced the bride’s younger sister to marry the groom, and everyone went home happy at the end of the day.

The drama started when a family from Pandhrabodi rushed to local police station with a request to help them find their daughter, whose marriage was scheduled at 11a.m that particular day. The groom, a computer teacher from Walni, had already reached the marriage venue with a convoy of around 300 people. The bride’s nervous family told police that she had left home early morning and was not traceable, with her mobile phone also unreachable.

The bride’s family members also revealed that she was close to one Ravi. Sources in the neighbourhood also told the cops that she often frequented Ravi’s place and the couple had been in a steady relationship.

Cops from the police station immediately rushed to Ravi’s place, which was not far from the bride’s home. But him, too, was untraceable and his mobile phone was switched off. The cops immediately flashed the registration number of Ravi’s bike on the wireless to trace him, assuming that they had gone together.

Meanwhile, the groom and his family were sad and disappointed on learning about the incident. They started leveling allegations of fraud and cheating against the bride’s family, for having kept from them the fact of her affair with Ravi. They were also upset that she had participated in marriage rituals at the groom’s place a day earlier without any apparent reluctance expected of someone thinking of running away.

After a daylong drama of trying to trace them, the bride and Ravi returned in the evening after marrying each other. The cops, who had been worried about the possibility of the lovebirds taking a drastic step like suicide, were relieved to see them married and happy.

“Police cannot take action since two adults have taken a decision to marry each other,” said an officer at the police station.

However, the drama was not yet over, as the families decided to end the matter on a happier note, the bride’s younger sister was asked to marry the dejected groom, and she agreed.

Decked up in bridal make-up, she took her elder sister’s place at the wedding and got married.