08 October,2009 08:19 AM IST | | Agencies
A British man and eight members of his family are facing charges of murder and rioting after his Indian wedding descended into chaos.
Gurpreet Sahota, from Southall in London, was arrested and jailed along with his mother and other relatives after the group was accused of attacking the owner of a Punjabi wedding hall.
The 27-year-old, a baggage handler for British Airways at Heathrow, faces up to seven years in prison along with his family members for attempt to murder the most serious of a string of charges.
The group are also being charged with trespassing, rioting, assault and firing weapons.
Sahota travelled to Hoshiarpur in Punjab last month to marry Harpreet Kaur (22) from a nearby village.
But their special day took a nasty turn when the groom's family claimed Rs 3.7 lakh given to the couple by guests had been stolen by the owners of the wedding venue.
Witnesses claim a row erupted before the argument turned into a full blown riot with the police being called to break up the fight.
Police connection
The groom's cousin, Sundeep Sahota, a garage manager also from Southall, told a London paper, "The fight happened because they admitted taking the wedding money it was a bag with about u00a35,000 in it plus gold. Then it just kicked off.
Everyone is worried what will happen because the owner's son in-law is a big police chief." He added, "This was supposed to be Gurpreet's big day.
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It has been planned for a year, and it was ruined. He was robbed, and now he's the one in jail."
A British Foreign Office spokesman said, 'Consular staff are seeking further information. We understand Indian police are investigation.'
Those arrested along with the groom and his mother include his sisters Reema Bains and Seema Sanghera, both from California, his brother-in-law and the bride's two brothers from Norway and Leicester along with their teenage sons.
