Sion's Julia Roberts who ran away on wedding day will cost family Rs 2L

Shrikant Kamble with Pooja at their engagement

After over a decade of searching for his perfect woman, Shrikant Kamble, 36, finally found her at a function in his hometown of Athni. So happy were they with the match that they put in all their savings for the perfect wedding. Little did he know though, that after months of preparing, she would pull a Julia Roberts and be the runaway bride. Now, he has filed a complaint against her at the Kalachowky police station, seeking a compensation of Rs 2 lakh from the family.

Meet cute
Shrikant, a resident of the Shapoorji Pallonji Compound in Parel, works in a legal firm at Churchgate as an office executive. In March, when he was visiting his maternal uncle, he suggested a girl named Pooja Bhandare from Sion, who incidentally at the time, was also in Athni to attend a function and a meeting was set up. In true 'chat mangni, pat byah' fashion, immediately after they both gave their consent, an engagement was arranged on March 27 with the wedding scheduled for July 3.

Wedding day arrives
"I was extremely happy because it was finally happening. Even my family was frustrated that I hadn't managed to get married at the right age. For the wedding, we purchased clothes worth Rs 35,000, printed wedding cards, and booked the Bhawsar Auditorium in Parel. From the pandal to the DJ to even bangles for Pooja, I took care of everything. Also, during the entire courtship, I asked her several times whether she really liked me, and she always said she did," recalls a hearbroken Shrikant.

"Then, even on the haldi ceremony on July 2, my family went over and there were celebrations all round. However, the next morning, Pooja's uncle called at 9.30 am, five hours before the wedding, that she had gone missing and they had searched for her but couldn't locate her. I was shattered and didn't know what to do. Her relatives filed a missing person complaint in Sion Police station and I had to cancel everything," adds Shrikant.

Complaint filed
In the evening, he went to the Kalachowky police station and registered a case of cheating and breach of trust against Bhandari. "We have registered a case against Pooja, under sections 417 (punishment for cheating), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the IPC. Now, we will record the statements of all related parties and probe the matter," said Dilip Ugle, senior inspector, Kalachowky police station.

Incidentally, Bhandari returned on Tuesday morning and told the Sion police station officers that she didn't want to marry Kamble and was having an affair.

The other side
Speaking to mid-day, Bhandari's grandmother Sushila Honmare said, "I am terribly upset with my granddaughter; I raised her when her parents died. If she didn't like the boy, she could have told me. This is an embarrassment for the entire family. We spent almost a lakh on this wedding, now where will we return this money from?"