'Shotgun wedding': Teenage lovers skip exam to marry at temple; cops thwart plan

VARANASI: A teenage couple that skipped their UP Board examination and arrived at a local temple to tie the knot on Wednesday were in trouble when the boy's family got to know about it and called the cops.

However, local police handled the issue responsibly and rushed the two to their exam centre first. After the exam, the girl who was found to be months shy of 18 was taken to the child welfare committee where her statement was recorded. Both the boy and girl were later allowed to go home.


The couple belonged to the same village in Chandauli, and they had been in a relationship for the past several months. They both studied in Class XII in a college affiliated to the UP Board. On Wednesday, the girl was due to appear in her sociology exam, while the boy left home for his chemistry paper.

However, instead of reaching their respective centres, they headed to the Swayambhu Kaleshwarnath Temple in Sakaldiha around noon. The girl's family members accompanied the couple.

But before they could enter the temple, the boy's family got to know about it and created a ruckus at the spot. They also called the cops.

Sakaldiha police station in-charge Bhupendra Nishad said that the police separated both groups and stalled the wedding plan. "We noted that there was enough time to take them to their exam centres. Two police teams took the boy and girl to their exam centres. After the exam ended, their ages were verified," Nishad said.

The girl was found to be 17 years and 10 months old, while the boy was over 18, Nishad said. Since she was a minor, Childline volunteers were called to record her statement. On Thursday, the girl was produced before the child welfare committee to record her statement, after which, she was allowed to go home.