In Udta Punjab, bride grounds groom

DESPITE BEING CAJOLED BY JASPREET’S KIN, SUNITA REFUSED TO BUDGE UNLESS HE UNDERWENT A CHECKUP. HE TESTED POSITIVE

A 22-year-old woman from Dinanagar called off her wedding after seeing the groom arrive at the gurdwara for their marriage ceremony in a drugged state, police said on Tuesday.

Sunita Singh, a resident of Dusshera Ground, refused to participate in the rituals at the Gurdwara Maharaja Ranjit Singh on Sunday upon seeing the groom — Jaspreet Singh — walking with an uncharacteristic swagger after stepping out of his car. The bride’s father, a truck driver, said she flatly refused to marry a likely drug addict. Although Jaspreet’s parents attributed his inability to walk straight to a leg injury, Sunita refused to budge unless he underwent a check-up.

“She suspected that Jaspreet – a trucker from Khanpur near Mukerian — was a drug addict, and nothing short of a lab test could make her believe otherwise,” a relative said on the condition of anonymity.

Attempts to get Jaspreet tested at the nearby community health centre proved unsuccessful because it did not have the equipment required. So the groom was taken to a private laboratory in Gurdaspur at Sunita’s insistence, where he tested positive.

The matter was reported to a police station near the gurdwara. Station house officer Baldev Raj said both families eventually accepted Sunita’s decision and returned the gold rings that were already exchanged.

Sunita’s father Kamal Singh knew the groom well because they used to drive long distances together on trucking routes across the country. It was only recently that he got his daughter engaged to Jaspreet. “But now he is proud of Sunita because she did the right thing. How can he be happy if she isn’t?” the relative asked.

The bride, who is a matriculate, has no regrets.

Romesh Mahajan, project director at the local Red Cross de-addiction centre, said Sunita will be felicitated for her bold stand.

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