A young man from Sitapur reached the Shiva temple in Bharohiya village, Khajni police station area, Gorakhpur, on Friday to get married.

The bride arrived at the temple with her mother for the seven wedding rounds.

Before the garland exchange, the bride deceived the groom and fled with the wedding items and jewelry along with her mother. At the time of the garland exchange, the bride suddenly said she needed to go to the bathroom but never returned. The groom kept waiting with the garland in his hands.

According to the information, Kamlesh Kumar, a resident of Govindpur village in the Tambaur police station area of Sitapur district, had lost his first wife. Forty-year-old Kamlesh wanted to remarry to manage his household and take care of his children, so he was searching for a good match. Meanwhile, he met a middleman in Sitapur, who promised to arrange his marriage. The middleman showed him a photo of a girl, and Kamlesh liked her. The middleman took ₹30,000 as an advance to proceed with the matter.

A few days later, the middleman told him the match was fixed. The wedding was arranged at a temple in Bharohiya village, Khajni police station area, Gorakhpur, on January 3. Trusting the middleman, Kamlesh Kumar, along with his family, reached Gorakhpur for the wedding. The bride arrived at the temple with her mother for the seven rounds. Wedding preparations began, and Kamlesh gave the bride a wedding dress, ornaments, new sarees, and jewelry.

Kamlesh, the victim, said, "The preparations for the garland exchange started. I was waiting for the bride with the garland in my hands. She was dressed in her wedding attire. Suddenly, she said she needed to go to the bathroom and left. When she didn't return for a long time, I went looking for her. The bride had fled with the jewelry and wedding items."