Rajkot: The mass weddings are common, but 28 couples in Rajkot had a bitter experience on Saturday. They arrived in wedding attire, hoping to start new chapters in their lives. However, at the wedding venue, the organizers were missing, and no arrangements had been made.
There was chaos at the venue. Family members had an altercation with the party plot owner but soon realized that they had been cheated. According to sources, the organizers took Rs 15,000 from each bride and groom to arrange the mass wedding, which was an all-caste event. They also received donations.
Shilpa Bagtharia, who attended the wedding for a relative’s daughter, said the organizers took Rs 15,000 from both parties and promised to provide dowries.
“No arrangements were made and none of the organizers was present. Many people began to leave and the priests who were to officiate over the wedding also returned,” she said.
Speaking to TOI, Sajjansinh Parmar, deputy commissioner of police, said, “We reached the spot as we learned what had happened. Most of the couples had left the venue, but we six couples were still there, and we arranged their wedding.”
Thanks to the police’s efforts, some people came forward to donate wedding gifts to the brides. With the help of social workers and donors, police carried out the wedding ceremony.
Police also began the process of filing an FIR against the organizers at Pradhyuman Nagar police station. Family members of the brides and grooms were called to the police station to record their statements.