Cops bust Koderma wedding, help couple tie knot in Palamu

Ranchi/Daltonganj: The coronavirus crisis has changed the way weddings take place in the rural areas of the state. With prior permissions, limited number of guests and adherence to social distancing protocols becoming mandatory, the authorities have been filing cases against those who violate the norms and also going all out to help couples tie the knot with precautionary measures in place.
Koderma police on Wednesday filed an FIR against 50 persons, including the bride, the groom, their family members, a priest and 40 unnamed persons, for organising a marriage ceremony without permission from the district administration on Tuesday night.
The ceremony, which took place at a temple in Indrwa Basti under Tilaiyya police station area, had more guests than permitted during the lockdown. A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, Koderma SP Ehtesham Waquarib said. “So far, no one has been detained,” he added.
Waquarib said several guests fled from the venue when they saw the police, but the police found Suraj Yadav, Babulal Pandey, Sunita Devi and Rajesh Yadav from the groom’s family and Suresh Yadav, Dhaneshwar Yadav, Baleshwar Yadav, Dolly Kumari, Ajay Yadav and Mohan Das from the bride’s family at the spot.
The families failed to show any papers that permitted the ceremony to take place. Police said they went ahead with the marriage following lockdown protocols after the family members submitted an application before the local block development officer.
In Palamu, the marriage of a 25-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman was solemnised amid a small gathering overseen by the district administration, officials said on Wednesday. Only eight persons — four each from bridegroom Pawan Kumar and bride Khushbu Kumari families -- were allowed to attend the ceremony at Chianki village on Tuesday evening under the supervision of a doctor and two health personnel from Palamau Medical College, a senior official said.
The venue was sanitised and all the attendees were thermally screened before being allowed to attend the event, Palamu DC Shantanu Kumar Agrahari said. “The ritual of exchanging garlands was done away with and the priest chanted the hymns from a distance of two metres from the bride and the groom. The eight attendees also stood at a distance of two metres from each other. Everyone had worn masks,” he said.
“We are happy the marriage was solemnised. The ceremony was scheduled to take place a few weeks ago and had to be postponed due to the lockdown,” the groom's father Sudheswar Ram said.
(With agency inputs)