KANPUR: The Chief Minister’s Samuhik Vivah (mass marriage) event which saw 12000 couples get married in 60 districts of Uttar Pradesh on Friday had a unique challenge in Kanpur: A runaway groom.
According to the officials, the groom at Sharifapur village of the district where 144 couples were to get married left the ‘mandap’ for a minute on the pretext of getting a glass of water and disappeared. State cabinet minister Dharampal Singh was in attendance at the event.
As soon as the incident came to light, a massive search was conducted but his whereabouts were not to be found. The bride hailing from Gugrapur town of the district was set to get married to the man hailing from Mainpuri district at a private guest house here on Friday.
The girl’s mother later told the officials that the groom had demanded a motorcycle in dowry. “When she expressed her inability citing financial constraint, he planned the exit and slipped away,” an official said.
