Mumbai: Cops gatecrash wedding and end rituals, send bride to children’s home

The bride’s family says they have faced a huge loss, as a lot of money was spent for the arrangements

A Kalyan-based boy's wedding ceremony took a dramatic twist when a team of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and Malwani police gatecrashed the event, put an end to the rituals and sent his bride to a children's remand home. A week back, the cops had received a complaint that the man was marrying a minor girl, which led them to take the action. The girl was later taken to Cooper Hospital, where she underwent a test to ascertain her actual age, a report of which is awaited.

The bride's mother told mid-day, "My daughter is almost 19 years old. I am very poor and had somehow arranged for the money to get her married, but the cops spoiled the ceremony and took her away. The marriage has been postponed but I have incurred a huge loss." The Malwani police said the bride's family did not produce any documents to prove that she was not a minor.

Investigating officer PSI Rahul Kolape said, "The CWC informed us that a minor girl was getting married in Malwani. We reached the marriage hall and rescued her. She underwent a test at Cooper Hospital to ascertain her actual age. The report is awaited. We are also trying to check the veracity of the complaint. If it is found to be fake, action will be taken." Kolape further said, "The girl's family had her Aadhaar card, which mentions the name of her husband. How did her husband's name come on the card if she is yet to get married? We are checking whether the Aadhaar card is a valid one." The bride's mother further said, "We don't have her birth certificate."

When contacted, the girl's aunt said, "The police received a complaint on November 3 but they waited for a week to take action. We have incurred a huge loss, as food arrangements for more than 300 guests had been done and the money was paid in advance for several other arrangements. However, the groom has assured us that he will marry her once the situation normalises." A source told mid-day, "The groom is slightly upset as friends were making fun of him because of all that happened on his wedding day." However, calls made to the groom went unanswered.

19
Age of the bride, as claimed by her mother