‘I wanted to make her my wife’: UP man marries dead fiancée before her cremation

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In a heart-wrenching and rare gesture, a 29-year-old man in Uttar Pradesh’s Maharajganj district performed a symbolic wedding with his late fiancee just hours before her cremation on Monday, PTI reported.

The woman, identified as 23-year-old Priyanka Madhesia, allegedly died by suicide at her home on Sunday night after an argument with her partner, Sunny Madhesia. No police complaint has been filed regarding her death, officials reportedly confirmed.

As family and villagers gathered in Krishna Nagar, Nichlaul, to prepare for Priyanka’s last rites, the sombre atmosphere took an extraordinary turn when Sunny stepped forward with vermilion (sindoor) in hand. Amid Vedic chants led by a priest, he applied the sindoor on her forehead and completed the saat pheras (seven ritualistic circles) around her bier, fulfilling Hindu wedding customs in front of stunned mourners.

"This was my way of fulfilling her last wish... I loved her very much," Sunny was quoted by PTI as saying. "We were going to get married in November. Even though she is no more, I wanted to make her my wife the way we had both dreamt."

The ceremony included traditional rites such as aarti, after which Sunny lit the funeral pyre, a duty typically reserved for a spouse or close male relative.

Nichlaul Police Station SHO Akhilesh Kumar Verma confirmed the symbolic marriage was conducted with both families’ approval. "It was a mutual decision. Sunny also expressed his wish to organise her 13th-day death ritual (terahvin)," Verma said, quoted PTI.

Sunny and Priyanka had been in a relationship for three years after meeting when he rented a room in her family home. He later set up a mobile repair shop nearby. Both families had accepted the relationship and the couple was formally engaged, with a wedding planned for November 29, 2025.

Police said a minor argument preceded Priyanka’s death, but no formal complaint has been lodged. She was declared dead on arrival at Nichlaul’s Community Health Centre.