PRAYAGRAJ: Policemen in Pratapgarh's Kashipur Dakhwapur village on Wednesday night played an unconventional role as 'gharatis' (family members of the bride) while solemnising the wedding of a 22-year-old woman whose father was allegedly murdered by a neighbour in the village about a month and a half ago.
As the bride's family was facing acute financial crisis following the death of the bride's father and there was none in the family to look after the wedding arrangements, the men-in-khaki posted at Sangramgarh police station came forward and solemnised Anupama's marriage with full Indian traditions and customs.
Sangramgarh station house officer Satyendra Singh Bhadauria played the role of the father and performed the ‘kanya daan'.
Pratapgarh SP Anil Kumar told TOI, "Cops played the role of gharatis perfectly while organising the marriage of a woman whose father, named Ramlakhan Saroj, was allegedly murdered by a neighbour in Kashipur Dakhwapur village under Sangramgarh police station on October 28." He added, "Although the police worked out the case after ensuring the arrest of the accused, the cops found that the arrangements for the murdered man's daughter were incomplete despite the fact the date of marriage was fixed on Dec 11."
Acknowledging the problems of the bride's family, senior cops, with the help of the district administration and social welfare department, managed to get Rs 4.12 lakh funds sanctioned and deposited into the family's bank account.
On Wednesday night, cops posted at Sangramgarh police station welcomed ‘baratis' at the woman's house and also performed all rituals like ‘dwarachar', wedding, and vidai of the bride on Thursday morning.