A marriage ceremony in Chiniot turned into a riot over the effect of dower on Monday night.
According to eyewitnesses, a wedding party of over 75 people arrived in Satellite Town, Chiniot on Monday night but the festivities soon turned off when the grooms party refused the match after stating the dowry was inadequate. It was absolute mayhem. Bottles and stones were being thrown by each company and scores were injured, said a wedding guest Haroon.
According to local residents, Mohalla Noorpur resident Amir Ilyas reached Sattelite Town to marry Shamila, the girl of Khuda Buksh. Ilyas brought a wedding party of over 70 guests to Bukshs house. According to a client at the wedding, the bride and bridegroom were close relatives and the wedding had been ordered with the consent of their parents. It was an elaborate wedding and the guests were cordially received. They were eating food when the fight began, said Latif, a server.
The riot broke out after several women from the grooms family went to see the bride in her room. The grooms mother Nighat Bibi inspected the brides dowry and plant it to be less than expected. I saw her shake her head silently to the woman seated adjacent to her when we showed her the dowry. She openly said that they would not have such rags, said Shamilas cousin Irum.
Nighat Bibi came away and told her home that the dowry was less than the acceptable amount.
She told them they should all give and there would be no wedding. When the brides household heard of this they tried to plead with the family not to hinder them and things escalated, said Haroon.
Buksh and his sons tried to negotiate with the grooms family but they began insulting him and his daughter. The men even said that they should go with the ceremonial and that they would send more things for the dowry later on but the stableman said that the daughter was already not to his liking and the sole reason they had considered the couple was because of the dowry, a servant at the house told reporters.
The guests refused to hear and insisted on going the family and a brawl broke out between members of both families.
The post soon escalated and the girls mother and brothers began throwing empty bottles and bricks at the dress and his family. Dozens of mass were injured in the wrangle and eventually several villagers intervened in the matter.
The bridegroom was badly beaten and his dress were torn during the fight. When bride was told about the incident, she fainted and was afterwards interpreted to the infirmary for a break up.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 6th, 2011.
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