Bhubaneswar, Sept. 25: Yudhisthir lost Draupadi gambling. Centuries on, another woman of Malipada village in Khurda, about 20km from here, was put on bet.

Binodini Moharana (19) was hurriedly married off to 28-year-old Kailash Moharana, a carpenter, on September 19 after her brother-in-law lost her in gambling.

Binodini, a student of class IX was average in studies and her parents were looking for an eligible bachelor. Her Bhubaneswar-based brother-in-law, Babu Moharana, was asked to find a prospective groom for her.

A resident of Dharam Vihar here, Babu, married to Binodini’s elder sister, used to drink to glory and gamble every evening after work.

One such evening in the second week of September, Babu, while gambling with Kailash, put his sister-in-law on stake. Kailash had seen Binodini during one of her visits to Babu’s place and was keen to marry her. He gladly accepted the challenge and went on to win in the gambling. Game over, Kailash asked Babu to make arrangements for his marriage with Binodini.

The crowd at the gambling spot, too, pressed Babu to stick to his word.

Kailash wanted the marriage to be solemnised fast and agreed to tie the knot without any dowry at the city-based Anti-Caste Marriage One Child Family Organisation of India (AMOFOI). “They approached us with the required documents. Also, unlike other cases, a huge crowd accompanied this couple. We virtually had no place to stand,” said AMOFOI founder B. Ramachandra CST Voltaire.

He said the documents were cross-checked and the certificate was issued after the marriage. “The gambling issue was revealed much later,” he said.

Binodini, who now stays with Kailash at Jena colony in Jagmara, is shocked.

“I did not know this part of the story until my husband told me. I always wanted to marry according to the rituals and could not understand why everything was being done in a hurry without making proper arrangements,” she said.

Kailash, who earns around Rs 4,500 a month, said the gambling was just an excuse to marry Binodini.

“No matter how I got her, I will keep her happy always,” he said.