"I cannot force her to marry a person who doesn’t respect her.”
A bride decided to call off her wedding after some of the groom’s friends grabbed her and forced her to dance.
Her family objected to her being manhandled, which led to a heated argument between the two sides.
The couple, both postgraduates, were about to tie the knot in a grand wedding ceremony in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly district on December 13, 2020.
However, all celebrations came to an abrupt halt after the bride was forcefully dragged to the dancefloor of the venue.
Following the argument, the bride’s parents said she cannot be forced to tie the knot with a man who didn’t respect her.
The bride’s father stated: “I respect her decision. I cannot force her to marry a person who doesn’t respect her.”
Hence, the bride’s family decided to return home after calling off the wedding.
Police were also asked to intervene in the matter.
The groom’s family were also allegedly looking for more dowry before the ruckus happened at the wedding venue.
The bride and groom were scheduled to have an arranged marriage, the match was organised by a common relative, as is common in Indian custom.
The bride’s family had arrived in Bareilly in style, and prepared for a grand ceremony prior to the incident.
Bithri Chainpur SHO Ashok Kumar Singh said:
“The woman’s family had given a dowry complaint. No FIR was registered.”
According to reports, the bride’s family also filed a dowry complaint against the groom’s family.
Following which, the groom’s parents agreed to pay Rs 6.5 lakh (£6,500) to arrive at a settlement.
The bride’s brother said:
“The groom’s friends misbehaved with my sister. In our family, we don’t allow women to dance in public.”
Commenting on the situation, an intermediary said:
“I was engaged in preparations when guests from both sides started misbehaving. But, no one misbehaved with the bride.”
The intermediary, visibly upset, blamed both sides for the ‘dance’ incident.
In a last-ditch effort, on December 14, 2020, the groom’s family attempted to convince the bride’s family to re-arrange a simple wedding ceremony.
However, the bride refused to tie the knot over the disrespect she faced during the event.
The practice of calling off a wedding during the ceremony is fairly uncommon.
However such incidents are known to happen, and in the aftermath bring societal shame to both the bride and groom’s families.
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