Bareilly: Wedding called off after drunk groom garlands bride’s best friend

Bareilly groom garlands bride’s best friend

A wedding in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly took a bizarre turn after the groom, allegedly drunk, mistakenly garlanded the bride’s best friend, triggering a chain of events that led to his arrest. The wedding was later also called off.

26-year-old Ravindra Kumar arrived late for his wedding and spent time drinking with friends before the ceremony in Naughwa Bhagwantpur village. As the garland-exchanging ritual began, Kumar, in an inebriated state, mistakenly placed the ceremonial garland around the bride’s best friend.

Realising his mistake, he then garlanded a male friend and an elderly guest, leaving the gathering in stunned silence.

The bride, 21-year-old Radha Devi, slapped Kumar and walked away. She also called off the wedding. According to a Times of India report, the bride’s family had reportedly spent over Rs 10 lakh on the wedding preparations. They later filed a police complaint.

Radha’s brother, Omkar Verma, alleged that the groom’s family was unhappy with the dowry, and they may have staged the incident to humiliate them. He also claimed that Kumar had misrepresented his profession, falsely saying that he was a farmer when he was actually a truck driver.

By 4 AM, Kumar was in police custody. A medical test confirmed he was intoxicated. The police booked him under sections of the Dowry Act. Despite his family’s attempts to salvage the wedding, Radha refused to reconsider.

Circle Officer Harsh Modi, who is looking into the case, said: “The groom was intoxicated and misbehaved. His medical examination confirmed he was drunk.”