Bhopal, Feb. 21: Guests watched in stunned disbelief last night as a 23-year-old bride walked demurely towards her groom, garland in hand, but suddenly turned and slipped it around her lover’s neck.

Neelesh walked away with the trophy after Kiran’s daring Prithviraj-Sanyogita act of sorts — they got involved last year while pursuing a computer course — but not before he was soundly thrashed by furious baraatis.

The guests accompanying groom Rakesh Malviya did not stop there. They went on a rampage, breaking chairs and glasses and tearing up floral decorations till the police were called in.

Once Shahjahanabad SP Ajay Pandey showed up, they kicked up a bigger ruckus, seeking “action” against Neelesh, Kiran and her father Ram Gulab, an army warrant officer.

But Kiran was not to be put down. Draped in traditional red finery, she shut up the baraatis declaring she was a major at 23 and was free to choose her husband.

Rakesh’s father Girdhari Lal then got cracking. He produced a lawyer, who demanded that “compensation” be paid to the baraatis, including bus fare to and from Vidisha, 60 km away, food, water and monetary payment for “loss of face”.

As SP Pandey and station house officer Anil Barua tried to calm tempers, Kiran stoked the fire again. Wearing a maroon salwar-kameez, she headed for Jawahar Nagar’s Arya Samaj temple, where her wedding with Neelesh was solemnised in the presence of a handful of his friends.

The public humiliation spurred Rakesh’s father into further action. Several calls on his mobile later, the baraatis regrouped at the original venue. And one Neelu, a 21-year-old girl, was wedded to Rakesh in strict adherence to customs and tradition.

Kiran’s father today sounded bitter at what his daughter had done, saying she should have been honest with him instead of “creating drama”.

But close relatives claimed the two families had opposed their wedding after Neelesh moved to Shajapur, some 150 km from Bhopal, with a bank job.

Kiran apparently called him up on Monday, inviting him to her wedding. She sprung the garland on him as he was silently watching proceedings.

The people’s verdict on the wedding is mixed. While girls from Sarojini Naidu College felt Kiran was right in marrying for love, retired schoolteacher Najma Ansari said she should have taken her parents into confidence.