There is no groom, the bride is wearing a garland around her neck! Fake mass marriage to take government money
New Delhi: No groom. Brides are lined up. Everyone’s head is veiled. Wear a dark orange saree. They attended the wedding in a grand outfit. But the groom is not seen. After a while, it was seen that the brides themselves were putting garlands around their necks! The wedding is being completed without the groom in the mass wedding ceremony.
The incident took place in Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia district. The mass marriage was organised on January 25 at the Inter College premises in Maniya under the initiative of the Social Development Department. From there, a video footage spread on social media. Which left the noise. In the video, the wedding can be seen without a groom. However, Anandabazar Online could not verify the authenticity of the video.
After the video went viral, the local administration launched an investigation. Villagers alleged that the fake mass marriage was arranged to get government money. No one was married there. The women stood with veils and garlanded themselves around their necks. Many men were also in the crowd of women wearing saris, locals alleged.
The names of 568 couples were registered for marriage at that mass marriage ceremony. The government had allocated Rs 51,000 per couple for mass marriage. It was said that the money would be available only after marriage. Out of this, Rs 35,000 was to be directly credited to the bride’s bank account. Apart from this, a gift of Rs 10,000 was also announced as due to the bride and groom. It is alleged that a fake mass marriage ceremony was organized to take this money and gifts.